Having sex outside marriage is no longer a crime in the conservative state of Utah (United States).
Until last week, an anachronistic law of 1973 typified this behaviour as a 'Class B misdemeanor', which could have led to up to six months in jail and 1,000 US dollars (about 890 euros) fine.
But this situation has ceased, fortunately for the inhabitants of this piece of the deepest America. The state Governor, Gary Herbert, signed last week the Bill 43, which decriminalises sexual intercourse out of marriage.
Until last week, the Criminal Code of the State contemplated it as a crime within the chapter of infractions to the family. Its section 76-7-104 established that "any unmarried person who shall voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse with another is guilty of fornication".
This law, which authorities in practice did not apply, was a good example of some of the ultraconservative norms that still survive in some areas of the United States.
In Utah, a territory that is particularly socially conservative and where the majority of the population professes the Mormon religion, the Governor has also recently signed a law that legalises sodomy and adultery, until now also considered criminal offences.
From now on, Utah residents will be able to continue enjoying sex in all its forms, but they will also enjoy legal security.
