ANNAPOLIS, Md.—An archaic sex law prohibiting oral and anal sex between consenting adults in the state of Maryland is officially off the books, according to a press release from the nonprofit Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Through action taken by the state legislature this past session, the so-called Unnatural and Perverted Sexual Practice Act, which made any sexual activity that is outside of “traditional” vaginal penetration a criminal act, was decriminalized. The change in the statute is scheduled to impact all of the Old Line State beginning on October 1 of this year.
“The prohibition of consensual sexual activity between adults is a violation of our human rights and bodily autonomy,” notes Woodhull in its press statement. “We cannot allow antiquated and discriminatory laws to remain on the books and leave us vulnerable to prosecution.” Woodhull submitted testimony to the Maryland state legislature in February 2023, written by foundation president and chief executive officer Ricci Joy Levy, calling for the repeal of the act, which has systematically oppressed members of the local LGBTQ communities—especially gay men.
In a 2022 op-ed for The Baltimore Sun endorsing an eariler version of the bill to repeal the "perverted practice" statute, Harford County assistant public defender Bradley S. Clark called the act “patently unconstitutional.” He went on to write, “As a public defender, I have represented several clients—all of them gay men—who have been charged with violating [this law] in just the last year. I have heard their disgust and shame and disbelief as they wonder aloud how such a law can even exist.”
“The United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantee us a right to privacy,” Levy wrote in Woodhull's February submission to the state legislature. “That right was upheld by the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas. The question before the court was whether the protections of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment were violated when two gay men ... were arrested and charged with violating the Texas laws against sodomy.” The court ruled that the Texas laws were flagrantly unconstitutional and rendered sodomy laws all over the country null on the same grounds—a decision rendered in 2003.
Levy pointed out that one of the most recent attempts to punish LGBTQ individuals with a felony Maryland “perverted practice” charge, punishable with up to 10 years in prison and fines, occurred in 2021. The Washington Blade reported that gay men were charged with Perverted Sexual Practice violations in a raid on an adult book store. Counsel speaking to the Blade assailed the charges as unconstitutional.
