(no subject)
Court Backs Harsher Sentence for Illegal Gay Sex
Kansas can punish illegal sex with children more harshly when it involves homosexual acts, the state Court of Appeals ruled Friday in a case being watched by national advocacy groups. Judge Henry W. Green Jr. wrote in the 2-1 decision that legislators could justify differing penalties for heterosexual versus homosexual sodomy in plenty of ways, including higher health risks or an attempt to "encourage and preserve the traditional sexual mores of society."
The ruling rejected an appeal by Matthew R. Limon, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for having sex when he was 18 with a 14-year-old boy in 2000. Had Limon's partner been an underage girl, he could have been sentenced at most to one year and three months in prison under the state's "Romeo and Juliet" law.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Limon, had argued that the differing sentences represented unconstitutional discrimination against gays, especially because the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down state laws, including one in Kansas, criminalizing gay sex between consulting adults. The appeals panel said that the decision did not apply to sex acts involving children. (AP)
Kansas can punish illegal sex with children more harshly when it involves homosexual acts, the state Court of Appeals ruled Friday in a case being watched by national advocacy groups. Judge Henry W. Green Jr. wrote in the 2-1 decision that legislators could justify differing penalties for heterosexual versus homosexual sodomy in plenty of ways, including higher health risks or an attempt to "encourage and preserve the traditional sexual mores of society."
The ruling rejected an appeal by Matthew R. Limon, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for having sex when he was 18 with a 14-year-old boy in 2000. Had Limon's partner been an underage girl, he could have been sentenced at most to one year and three months in prison under the state's "Romeo and Juliet" law.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Limon, had argued that the differing sentences represented unconstitutional discrimination against gays, especially because the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down state laws, including one in Kansas, criminalizing gay sex between consulting adults. The appeals panel said that the decision did not apply to sex acts involving children. (AP)