Last edited: August 10, 2004
The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers
The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States
By George Painter
© Copyright, George Painter 1991-2001
The Victorian Morality Period, 1873-1948
The Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 19171
and all laws of Denmark remained in force unless and until specifically
changed,2 which included the Danish sodomy law.3
A new law was enacted in 19214 setting a
maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, with the common-law definition of the
crime.5 A separate law prohibited committing an
assault "with intent to commit...sodomy" with a penalty of up to 15
years in prison, five more than the maximum for the completed act.6
Period Summary: The Virgin Islands, passed from Denmark to the
United States, kept the Danish law until its own were adopted that
reflected English influence. The new law used common-law definitions.
The Kinsey Period, 1948-1986
A new code adopted in 19577 kept the penalty
the same, but abrogated common-law crimes8 and
broadened the language of the statute to include oral sex.9
In a summary opinion in 1978, Government v. John,10
the District Court of the Virgin Islands upheld the sodomy law against a
The legislature passed a new law on sex offenses in 198412
that repealed the law against sodomy13 and
established an age of consent of 16.14
Period Summary: After the Model Penal Code was published, the
Virgin Islands was the first U.S. jurisdiction to enact a new criminal
code. Rather than follow the recommendations of the American Law
Institute, the sodomy law was broadened to include oral sex and retained
as a felony. It was not until 1984 that the law was repealed. In the
meantime, the solitary reported case led to a ruling that "crime
against nature" was not vague.
The Post-Hardwick Period, 1986-Present
Period Summary: There are no published cases dealing with the
limits of state power to regulate sexual activity in places such as
restrooms or parked cars. Because of the decriminalization of consensual
sodomy, only that occurring in semi-public places still may be subject to
39 Stat. 1132,
enacted Mar. 3, 1917.
2 Id. §2.
3 Virgin Islands Code Annotated, Vol.
1, (Oxford NH:Equity Publishing Co., 1967), page 22, §67.
4 Code of St. Thomas and St. John,
Title IV, ch. 6, §17, enacted Mar. 17, 1921. A separate Code of St.
Croix also was enacted and contained a sodomy provision in Title IV,
ch. 6, §19. This code apparently is not available.
5 Code of St. Thomas and St. John, ch.
6 Id. ch. 5, §19.
7 Virgin Islands Code Annotated,
Vol. 1, (Oxford NH:Equity Publishing Co., 1967), enacted May 16,
8 Id. at 4, §1.
9 Id. ch. 103, §2061.
10 14 V.I. 631, decided Dec. 19, 1978.
11 Referred to in the appellate case of John
v. Government, 18 V.I. 3, at 4, decided Oct. 10, 1980.
12 Virgin Islands Session Laws 1984,
page 342, No. 5013, enacted Oct. 18, 1984, effective Jan. 16, 1985.
13 Id. at 354, §11.
14 Id. at 346, §1709.
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