New York could scrap century-old adultery law that criminalises the act of cheating

A century-old law in a US state which criminalises the act of cheating may be scrapped. Adultery has been classified as a minor criminal offence, termed a misdemeanor, within New York since 1907. These laws were historically implemented across various states in the US to mitigate divorce rates when infidelity was the sole grounds for legal separation.

However, enforcement has been exceedingly rare in New York, with only about a dozen people charged since 1972, and just five convictions, according to New York assemblyman Charles Lavine, who is advocating for the repeal of this seldom-used law.

Lavine said: "It just makes no sense whatsoever, and we've come a long way since intimate relationships between consenting adults are considered immoral. It's a joke. This law was someone's expression of moral outrage."

Katharine Silbaugh, a law professor at Boston University, co-author of "A Guide to America's Sex Laws," suggests that adultery bans were historically biased against women, reflecting patriarchal norms.

The bill to revoke the adultery prohibition has already been approved by the state assembly and is anticipated to pass the state senate soon, preceding its consideration in the governor's office for enactment.

Shortly after its enactment in 1907, the first arrests under this law were made involving a married man and a 25-year-old woman, prompted by the man's wife seeking a divorce, according to a historical New York Times article.

The most recent adultery charge in New York occurred in 2010, involving a woman caught engaging in a public park sex act; however, this case was subsequently dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Although most states in the United States consider adultery to be a misdemeanour, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Michigan treat it as a crime, or known as felony. Several states, including Colorado and New Hampshire, have launched campaigns to repeal their adultery laws, using similar logic to that used in New York.