The ACLU of Idaho is asking a federal judge to strike down part of the state’s crimes against nature law, saying it’s unconstitutional.
Idaho’s crimes against nature law makes it a felony to have sex with animals. But the law also bars consenting adults from having anal or oral sex, which is what this case focuses on.
In a 6-3 decision in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court said such sex was protected by the 14th Amendment. Before the nation's highest court declared these laws unconstitutional, they were often used to persecute the LGBTQ community starting in the 1950s.
The legal challenge involves an anonymous man who was convicted in another state under a similar law who the state of Idaho requires to register as a sex offender for life.
Lawyers for the man say he performed oral sex on his wife more than 20 years ago.
Being on the public sex offender registry dictates where a person can live and what jobs they can hold.
The man was only told he needed to register when he was released from prison this year on an unrelated charge.
The Idaho Attorney General’s office declined to comment on pending litigation.
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