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New bill will make fornication no longer illegal in Utah

A new bill in the Utah Legislature will make sex outside of marriage legal.

According to FOX 13, the bill is part of a larger effort to clean up Utah’s criminal code. Lawmakers repealed the law that makes fornication a misdemeanor crime and it’s now heading to Gov. Gary Herbert’s desk.

In previous legislative sessions, lawmakers removed adultery and sodomy among consenting adults as crimes in Utah. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, said court rulings have found the laws are unenforceable and it was time to remove them from the books.

However, the bill had some opposition from the more conservative members of the Utah House.

“What is legally is often far below what is morally right,” Rep. Kevin Stratton, R-Orem, said. “And I recognize our laws are not strong enough to rule a immoral people.”

See more at FOX 13.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners.

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