Russia Today reports:In a strong blow to conservative lawmakers, the Bayou State has decriminalized what would once earn you a felony charge.
Legislation limiting sex acts have been on the Louisiana books since the early 1800s, seven years before it even achieved statehood. Up until just now, soliciting certain sex acts, including oral and anal sex, was a big no-no in Louisiana. A conviction could earn you felon status and anyone found guilty of the crime was forced to register as a sex offender — something that was possible only in the great state of Louisiana. The solicitation of “unnatural carnal copulation” also meant longer jail terms and the branding of “sex offender” on state-issued driver’s licenses.
Advocates have long argued that the legislation unjustly targeted specific races and genders. Of those convicted of the crime in Louisiana, almost all of them are women and more than three-quarters of them have been Black. While heterosexual white streetwalkers were typically left off the hook, gay and transsexual sex-workers were handled a hefty fine and a rather ridiculous criminal sentence. Of the 861 sex offenders registered in New Orleans as of December 2010, more than half of them were listed due to “crime against nature” convictions.
Welcome to the 21st Century, Louisiana!
Wes Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
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