From: [email-masked]
Date: Feb 28 1996

PRESS RELEASE

   
   Contact:
   Robert Bray
   415-552-6448
   [email-masked]
   
   Tracey Conaty
   202-332-6483 ext. 3303
   [email-masked]
   
MONTANA AND TENNESSEE SCORE RIGHT-TO-PRIVACY VICTORIES; KENTUCKY GAYS BATTLE
ATTACK ON PRIVACY

  NGLTF RELEASES NEW EDITION OF SODOMY MAP
  
   February 28, 1996....
   
   Reflecting recent court decisions, this week NGLTF issued a revised
   edition of its map and fact sheet of sodomy laws across the country.
   Generally, sodomy laws criminalize anal or oral sex between
   consenting, adults even in the privacy of their homes. Tennessee and
   Montana gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens scored major victories in
   the struggle for the right to privacy. Courts in both of those states
   found sodomy laws to be unconstitutional.
   
   On January 27, a Tennessee appeals court struck down the state's
   sodomy law on grounds that it infringed on a citizen's right to
   privacy under the Tennessee state constitution. Tennessee officials
   failed to show a "compelling" government interest to intrude on a
   citizen's right to privacy. Tennessee's sodomy law, the Homosexual
   Practices Act, specifically targets same-sex, consensual sodomy. The
   measure remains technically enforceable pending an appeal outcome.
   
   In Montana on February 17, a District court found that state's sodomy
   law unconstitutional and granted a permanent injunction against the
   law. Like Tennessee, the court found the law in violation of a
   citizen's right to privacy under the state constitution. The victory
   in Montana is especially significant as it comes only 11 months after
   right-wing legislators used the state's sodomy law, the Deviate Sexual
   Conduct Statute, as justification for a "gay registration bill." The
   bill was defeated after massive public outcry. Montana's 10 year
   prison penalty or up to $50,000 fine for violation of its sodomy law
   is one of the highest in the nation. The state may still appeal this
   decision.
   
   "The tide is turning. Use of sodomy laws to intimidate, harass and
   criminalize gay, lesbian and bisexual people is no longer going so
   easily unchecked," stated Kerry Lobel, NGLTF Deputy Director. "The
   Montana and Tennessee statutes were blatantly discriminatory in that
   they only outlawed same-sex, consensual sodomy and not heterosexual
   sodomy. We are gratified that at least some courts are striking down
   these homophobic and unfair laws," added Lobel.
   
   Sodomy laws are often used to justify discrimination against gay,
   lesbian and bisexual people. A notorious example is the Sharon Bottoms
   case in Virginia. Last April, the state Supreme Court cited Bottoms'
   status as a criminal under the state's sodomy law as one reason for
   its decision to grant custody of Bottoms' son to his maternal
   grandmother. Just this week that ruling was reaffirmed.
   
   The Kentucky gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community is
   currently battling amendments to two bills that would recriminalize
   sodomy. The Kentucky Supreme Court struck down the state's sodomy law
   in 1992 as unconstitutional.
   
   According to NGLTF's Right to Privacy Map of the U.S., five other
   states (AR, KS, MO, OK, and MD) criminalize sodomy only between
   persons of the same sex. Fifteen other states have enforceable sodomy
   laws on the books pertaining to both same-sex and opposite-sex
   partners. Twenty eight states plus the District of Columbia are "free
   states."

     _________________________________________________________________
   
   To receive an updated NGLTF sodomy map, send $2 to NGLTF/Publications;
   2320 17th St. NW; Washington, D.C. 20009 (sorry, prepaid orders only).