ALBANY, NEW YORK – You may not realize it, but the act of committing adultery is illegal in New York State. Believing the state has no business regulating consensual sexual behavior between adults, Assemblymember Charles Lavine (D-North Shore) is trying to change that. Lavine introduced A.4714, to repeal and decriminalize the act of adultery in the State of New York. After passing unanimously through the Codes Committee last week, the bill passed in the full chamber on Monday (3/11/24) by a vote of 137-10 and is now in the hands of the Senate.
Lavine believes the bill is important as it allows for the removal of what he calls an “archaic” piece of law. “This outdated statute criminalizes sexual behavior between consenting adults.” Lavine said. “It is long past time for us to remove it from the penal code. If a law is not enforced, there is no reason it should be maintained,” he added.
Since 1972, only 13 people have been charged with adultery. Of those, only five were convicted of the crime. In virtually every one of those cases, there was some other crime involved, and the prosecuting attorney added adultery as just one of many crimes committed.
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Assemblymember Charles Lavine represents New York’s 13th Assembly District in Nassau County. He presently serves as Chair of the Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Committees on Codes, Ethics and Guidance, Insurance and Rules. Lavine previously served as Chair of the Election Law Committee, Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance, co-Chair of the New York State Legislative Ethics Commission, and as Chair of the bipartisan Taskforce that produced the Assembly Speaker’s Policy on Sexual Harassment, Retaliation and Discrimination. Lavine is also President of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators and a member of its National Board of Directors.
