It's crazy to think that it hasn't even been ten years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the "sodomy laws" that banned anal sex between consenting adults. The law, which resulted in prison sentences or fines for "violators," operated on a state-by-state basis, and although some states began eliminating the policies in 1962, the federal government didn't weigh in until 2003 in the Lawrence v. Texas case.
But despite the Lawrence ruling, 18 states have not yet revised their policies - also referred to as "crime against nature" laws - to reflect the change and remove the unconstitutional laws. Equality Matters has an incredible, in-depth report on the dangers of keeping these laws on the books.
The punishment for violating the "crime against nature" law is different for each state. Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah all legislate a maximum prison sentence of one year or less, Texas sticks with a $500 fine, and George, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, and Virginia all call for more than 1 year. Massachusetts and Georgia "win" the most ridiculous punishment award with maximum prison sentences of 20 years. Some states call sodomy a felony, others keep it as a misdemeanor, but despite the differences, these 18 states all have one thing in common: They all have the potential to criminalize consensual sex between adults and continue to villainize gay sex.