Civil Liberties

ID Sheriff Under Fire For Claim That Boy Scouts Promote 'Illegal' Gay Sex

Hint: It's not. And they don't

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BOISE, Idaho — The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho today sent a letter to Kootenai County Sheriff Wolfinger asking him to revise, update or eliminate any written or unwritten Sheriff's Department policies or practices premised on an outdated belief that sodomy is illegal in Idaho. This after the Sheriff made public statements recently where he said that the Boy Scouts of America are "promoting a lifestyle that is in violation of state law," and went on to say that sodomy is unlawful in Idaho.

The ACLU letter clarifies well established law and reminds the Sheriff that the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) the Court held that criminal statutes aimed at regulating sexual activity among consenting adults violates their due process rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Since June 25, 2003 sodomy statutes in Idaho aimed at regulating, non-commercial consenting sexual activity are unenforceable.