Thursday, September 02, 2004

15 months for the sex, 16 years for being gay about it

From CNN.com:
"TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- The state can punish illegal underage sex more harshly when it involves homosexual acts, even if the only goal is promoting traditional values, a state official told the Kansas Supreme Court on Tuesday. [...]

Maag argued in favor of upholding a sentence of more than 17 years in prison for Matthew R. Limon, convicted of criminal sodomy for having sex at age 18 with a 14-year-old boy in 2000.

Had the victim been a girl, Limon could have been sentenced to one year and three months in prison under a 1999 'Romeo and Juliet' law that gives shorter sentences to heterosexuals if the partners' ages are within four years and under 19."
Dear God. Is this for real? Is there more to this story? Why haven't I heard of this case before now?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This story has been publicized in gay magazines and was given some press after the Lawrence decision last year. (It seemed the sentence likely to be struck down after Lawrence, but no.) More facts: it was in some kind of group home, the older boy/man performing oral sex on the younger, presumably consensual, but immediately stopped when the younger boy asked. I think both had proven mental deficiencies. Why haven't you heard more? Dunno, could it be the media thinks people who are unaffected by such rulings just don't care? Too distasteful for family/public discourse?