ALBANY, NY — In a significant legislative shift, the state of New York is poised to decriminalize adultery, overturning a law that has branded the act a crime for over a century. A bill currently advancing through the New York Legislature aims to repeal the antiquated law, under which adultery is punishable by up to three months in jail.
Adultery, classified as a misdemeanor in the Empire State since 1907, is identified in the state code as engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one’s spouse. The law’s origins trace back to a time when proving a spouse’s infidelity was the sole means to obtain a divorce. Across the United States, several states still maintain laws against adultery, though enforcement is rare and convictions even rarer.
Historical records reveal that the first arrests under New York’s adultery law occurred just weeks after its enactment, involving a married man and a 25-year-old woman, as documented by a New York Times article from that period. Since 1972, there have been approximately a dozen charges under this law, leading to merely five convictions, as noted by Assemblyman Charles Lavine, the sponsor of the bill aiming to abolish the ban. The most recent charge, dating back to 2010 against a woman engaged in a public sex act, was ultimately dismissed following a plea agreement.