LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Democrats are moving ahead with nearly two-year old legislation aimed at removing a long-standing sodomy ban in the state.
House Bills 4431, 4432 and 4433 are aimed at removing language from Michigan's penal code that makes sodomy between two consenting adults illegal.
The current law Democrats are calling a "zombie law" because it is unenforceable and unconstitutional following the United States Supreme Court ruling against sodomy bans in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas.
The bill package is not a direct repeal of the law, because it was written to also include a ban on bestiality. This ban on bestiality remains and is punishable by up to life in prison.
House Bill 4431 eliminates sodomy as a crime in cases between two consenting adults. House Bill 4432 removes a reference to sodomy in Public Act 289 of 1925, which required that an offender's biometric data stay on file even if found no guilty. And House Bill 4433 removes sentencing guidelines for the crime of sodomy.
Democrats pushed the legislative package through the Committee on Criminal Justice with only partisan support Tuesday. Two Republicans voted against moving the bills forward and two opted to pass on voting.
During testimony ahead of the vote, Rep. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield) warned that not removing the laws from Michigan's books could result in the bans being reinstated if federal law changed.
"This legislature has rightfully worked diligently over the past two years to slay many 'zombie laws' rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or nullified by the people of this state," Arbit testified. "It is vital that we continue this work to eliminate laws that would leave Michiganders' rights unprotected in the event of adverse changes in the federal legal landscape."
Arbit said that Michigan was one of only a handful of states that hasn't repealed its sodomy laws following the 2003 Supreme Court ruling.
Now, the bill will head back to the Michigan House of Representatives for a second reading before any votes occur.
