united-states legal-history marriage history
Was (is?) pre-marital sex illegal anywhere in the United States?
<p>I read this summary of <a href="http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a50994/adultery-laws/" rel="noreferrer">laws banning adultery</a> in the United States.</p>

<p>Now, the wording of some of these laws made me wonder if any of them are remnants from a time when pre-marital sex (not just adultery) was banned. For example, maybe the pre-marital parts were removed, and the adultery parts were retained. Or maybe they are just interpreted differently now.</p>

<p>I certainly know that it was once illegal in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leierm%C3%A5l" rel="noreferrer">certain European countries.</a></p>

<p>Has pre-marital sex ever been illegal anywhere in the United States? </p>

<p>The legal term for premarital sex, as a crime, is <strong>fornication</strong>.  I found a paper that gives an extensive and well-referenced history and analysis of such laws:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Sweeny, JoAnne.  Undead Statutes: The Rise, Fall and Continuing Uses of Adultery and Fornication Criminal Laws.  <em>Loyola University Chicago Law Journal</em> <strong>46</strong> (2014), 127&ndash;173.  <a href="http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/vol46/Sweeny.pdf">http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/vol46/Sweeny.pdf</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Sweeny finds that many states (or even most) had such laws.  As of 2014, six states still do: Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, Illinois, Mississippi and South Carolina (see map on page 156 of the above paper).  However, they are likely unconstitutional under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_v._Texas"><em>Lawrence v. Texas</em></a>.  Virginia and North Carolina also have laws that have already been found unconstitutional, but have not been repealed.</p>

<p><strong>Yes</strong></p>

<p>As recently as 6 February 2014 for sure and possibly right up until today in Virginia - <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/virginia-bill-decriminalize-sex-outside-marriage-stalls-n23516" rel="noreferrer">http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/virginia-bill-decriminalize-sex-outside-marriage-stalls-n23516</a>. According to the article, there were 12 convictions in 2013, all as part of plea-bargains from more serious charges.</p>
