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Under 'Romeo & Juliet Law' |
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Compiled by GayToday
Matthew Limon is appealing a 17-year prison sentence he received because shortly after he turned 18, he performed oral sex on a nearly-15-year-old male at a residential school for developmentally disabled youth where they both lived in Miami County, Kansas. If he had instead performed oral sex on a 14-year-old female, he would have received 12 months in jail under the "Romeo and Juliet Law," which applies only to heterosexuals.
The Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution forbids singling out a group of people - based on bigotry toward that group - and punishing them more severely for the same behavior. "That's exactly what Kansas is doing," Coles said. Last week's appeal doesn't seek to change age-of-consent laws or reduce sentences for sexual contact with minors, the ACLU said. "The question here isn't whether young adults should be punished for unlawful sexual activity. It's whether gay people should be punished more severely than straight people for committing the same crime," Coles said. "We don't think the Constitution allows that, and we hope this court won't, either." The case is State of Kansas v. Matthew R Limon in the Court of Appeals of the State of Kansas, in Kansas City, number 00-85898-A. Limon is represented by a court-appointed public defender. |
Kansas City, Kansas-- Kansas' so-called "Romeo and Juliet Law" is
unconstitutional because it gives lesbian and gay youth much higher prison
sentences than straight youth who engage in the same behavior, the American
Civil Liberties Union said in an appeal brief filed last week.
