Living “lewdly and lasciviously” with a person of the opposite sex, is a second degree misdemeanor in Florida. So are assault, driving without and license and petit theft. It’s punishable by a $500 fine and up to 60 days behind bars. Now Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood) says she’s doesn’t want to count Floridians across the state as criminals.
“Times have changed. Currently over a half a million couples in Florida are breaking this law as we speak. The government should not intrude into the private lives of two consenting adults,” Sobel says.
Sobel is pushing a bill that would repeal that state’s cohabitation rule. Some say the repeal is not needed, since the measure is rarely enforced. But Sobel argues that’s not true. Data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows officials have charged 380 people with the crime since 2011. And Sen. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) says there are times officials throw the book at an offender.
“Law enforcement, and I have nothing against law enforcement, could add it if they showed up for any situation at someone’s home. It could be the potential for an additional charge, even though it’s pretty obscure, it could potentially happen. And so I think it’s a good thing that we take out something that could further criminalize individuals,” Gibson says.
And Bradenton Republican Senator Bill Galvano says there are other ways the statute could be used against a person.
“Unfortunately because it’s on the books and not being enforced it still has the potential of being used as a segway for a search into a premises. And that’s a concern because then you can always identify it as an underlying criminal activity to get a warrant to go in for maybe other purposes that you could not achieve that same warrant status on,” Galvano says.
And while typically people think of young couples cohabiting, Sobel says the rule creates tough situations for the state’s older adults.
“There are many couples, especially seniors who are living in the state who are living together. And their respective families don’t want them to get married because of inheritance issues. And these seniors can be subject to criminal penalties that we have on the books, which are truly outdated,” Sobel says.
Sobel says she’s heard from grandparents who have been denied visitation rights with their grandchildren because the grandparents are breaking the law by cohabitating.
And beyond that, Sobel says she just doesn’t think it’s the state’s business.
“Government has a role but there are limits to the government’s role of intrusion into people’s private lives. This is another example of an old law that had a different purpose in a different time, but times have changed. And there are different reasons why people aren’t getting married as we know. So it’s time for us to have less government, less intrusion, repeal this archaic bill and bring Florida into the 21 st Century,” Sobel says.
Florida is one of only three states with a cohabitation prohibition still on the books. Lawmakers passed the measure out of the Senate Rules Committee Thursday. But its companion in the House is awaiting its first hearing. And the bill could face some bumpy roads ahead. Lawmakers have worked on a repeal of the provision for years, but have often been stopped by pushback from religious groups who say removing the measure creates a slippery slope.
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