Ken Cuccinelli's crusade against sodomy
The Virginia attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate fights to save the state's "Crimes Against Nature" law
Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli is campaigning hard on all the big issues of the day: Taxes, jobs, and sodomy.
Yes, Cuccinelli has spent time on the trail defending Virginia's old "Crimes Against Nature" law, which outlawed oral and anal sex between consenting adults, and which was struck down earlier this year by a federal appeals court. This week, he debuted a new website explaining how his support for that now-unconstitutional law is really about protecting kids from sexual predators.
"Keep Virginia Kids Safe!" the site declares, adding that 90 registered sex offenders who were charged under the sodomy law could come off the sexual registry if that law is not upheld. Cuccinelli claims that he is not trying to ban all sodomy, and that the law only applies to "sodomy committed against minors, against non-consenting adults, or in public."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"In fact, contrary to misinformation peddled by Terry McAuliffe [the Democratic gubernatorial candidate] and his liberal allies against the defenders of this law, the law is not — and cannot be — used against consenting adults acting in private," a statement on the site reads.
The text of the law states that "any person" who "carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony."
A federal appeals court in March struck down the state's sodomy law, citing the landmark 2003 Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas that determined states could not outlaw private, consensual sex of any sort between two adults. The Virginia case involved a man, William MacDonald, who while in his 40s solicited oral sex from two 16- and 17-year-old women, and was prosecuted under the sodomy law. In Virginia, the age of consent is 15, so MacDonald fought his conviction on the grounds that both partners were legal adults and that he should therefore be protected by the Lawrence precedent.
Cuccinelli appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court in June and, under attack for continuing to defend what critics say is an anti-gay law, has now gone on the offensive to accuse McAuliffe of endangering children. A McAuliffe spokesman responded to that claim by charging that Cuccinelli's actions showed his "extreme agenda and uncompromising approach."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"Everyone supports strong laws to protect children, and, like most Virginians, Terry believes our laws should be updated to both conform with court rulings and allow prosecution of predators," that spokesman, Josh Schwerin, said in a statement.
While running for attorney general in 2009, Cuccinelli explained that he opposed all "homosexual acts."
"My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong," he said at the time. "They're intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural-law-based country it's appropriate to have policies that reflect that."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
14 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Who will win the 2024 presidential election?
In Depth Election year is here. Who are pollsters and experts predicting to win the White House?
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published