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LGBT people in the U.S. state of Florida face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in ''Lawrence v. Texas'' on June 26, 2003, while same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. == Law regarding same-sex sexual activity == After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, the Territorial Legislature enacted laws against fornication, adultery, bigamy, and incest, as well as against "open lewdness, or...any notorious act of public indecency, tending to debauch the morals of society."〔(Duval, John P. ''Compilation of the public acts of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, passed prior to 1840''. Tallahassee: Samuel S. Sibley, Printer, 1839. ) Sections 40–42 of "An Act relating to Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1839, p. 120〕 Florida's first specific sodomy law, which was enacted in 1868 and made sodomy a felony, read: "Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature, either with mankind or with beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding twenty years." In 1917, the Florida Legislature added a lesser crime, a second-degree misdemeanor: "Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with another person shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months."〔(''Franklin v. State'', Florida Supreme Court, December 17, 1971, accessed July 14, 2011 )〕 Florida courts interpreted the 1868 law to prohibit all sexual activity between two men or two women. In 1971, the Florida Supreme Court, ruling in ''Franklin v. State'', struck down the "crime against nature" statute as unconstitutionally vague. The court retained the state's prohibition on sodomy by ruling that anal and oral sex could still be prosecuted under the lesser charge of "lewd and lascivious" conduct.〔(Turbe, Laura A. "Florida's Inconsistent Use of the Best Interests of the Child Standard," 33 Stetson L. Rev. 369 (2003–2004), accessed July 16, 2011, pp. 377–381. ) See footnote 34, p. 374.〕 Same-sex sexual activity remained illegal in Florida until 2003, when the United States Supreme Court struck down all state sodomy laws in ''Lawrence v. Texas''.〔''New York Times'': ("Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Law Banning Sodomy," June 26, 2003 ), accessed May 24, 2011〕 As of 2015, the state's sodomy law, though unenforceable, had not been repealed by Florida legislators.〔(Florida Statutes 2014, Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature, accessed January 3, 2015 ) The statute reads: "800.02 Unnatural and lascivious act. — A person who commits any unnatural and lascivious act with another person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. A mother's breastfeeding of her baby does not under any circumstance violate this section."〕 In September 2015, a bill has been introduced to the Florida Legislature to repeal the 1868 cohabitation ban in Florida. The bill passed the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, by a vote of 10-3.〔()〕 Only Mississippi and Michigan have similar laws on cohabitation bans. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「LGBT rights in Florida」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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