Decriminalize adultery: Adultery will soon be legal in New York

Cheating on your partner will soon be legal in New York State, one of 16 US states where adultery can still lead to prison, after a lawmaker called on the public service to mind its own business.

“The state is not intended to regulate sexual conduct between consenting adults. “It simply does not make sense, and we have come a long way since intimate relationships between consenting adults were considered immoral,” insisted Democratic Rep. Charles Lavine, who introduced the bill to decriminalize adultery, according to the newspaper. The Telegraph on Sunday.

Since 1907, infidelity has been punishable by a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine in New York State, while the act is a misdemeanor in 16 US states, including Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Although prosecutions for adultery would be extremely rare today, this Sword of Damocles would have opened dozens of court cases since 1972, including five that would have ended in convictions, according to The Telegraph.

The last case in New York is believed to date back to 2010, although the charges were dropped after a plea agreement between the two parties.

“It's a joke – it's humor. This law was an expression of moral indignation on the part of someone.

The first attempt to repeal the law is said to have taken place in 1964, but this time the bill passed the New York Assembly and was now awaiting Senate approval.

But even the Catholic Church wouldn't mind.

“Adultery is a sin. I don't know if that's a crime,” Dennis Post, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, commented, according to The Telegraph.