Kansas Supreme Court Nixes Underage Gay Sex Law

In a controversial and much-watched case, the Kansas Supreme court voted unanimously on Friday to remove from the books a law that severely punishes underage sex offenders involved in homosexual activity. The court said that the law "suggests animus toward teenagers who engage in homosexual sex." The court added that moral disapproval of homosexual conduct is not reason enough for the law to justify treating homosexual offenders differently than heterosexual ones. Gay rights groups that were closely following the proceedings have applauded the court’s ruling. A lower court had earlier ruled that the harsher punishment could be justified as a way of protecting the traditional development of children or strengthening traditional values, or even as a way of fighting disease. But the Kansas Supreme Court said the law was too broad, and "moral disapproval of a group cannot be a legitimate state interest."

The case from which the controversy stemmed involved 18-year old Matthew Limon, who was found guilty in 2000 of performing a sex act on a 14-year old boy who lived at the home for the developmentally disabled where Limon was also a resident. Limon’s lawyers said during the trial that the relationship was a consensual one, and that the boys were adolescents experimenting with sex. Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline described Limon as a predator with two similar offenses already on his record, and such a behavior pattern demanded a tough sentence.

Kansas law prohibits any sexual activity involving a person under 16. However, a 1999 law enacted by the state, called the "Romeo and Juliet" law, allows short prison sentences or probation only for sexual activity when an offender is younger than 19 and the age difference between the two participants is less than four years. But that law only applies to opposite-sex encounters. Had one of the boys in Limon’s case been a girl, state law would have dictated a maximum sentence of only 15 months. But because the case involved homosexual activity, Limon was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

As a result of Friday’s ruling, the Supreme Court ordered that Limon be resentenced as though the law treated illegal gay sex and illegal straight sex the same way. He has already served more than five years in prison, so his new sentence will likely result in his release. Limon's lawyer, James Esseks of the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said, "We are very happy that Matthew will soon be getting out of prison. We are sorry there is no way to make up for the extra four years he spent in prison simply because he is gay." In a statement to the media, Kline said that he does not plan to appeal.

Although the law in Kansas has been removed from the books, the debate continues. Patricia Logue, a representative of the gay-rights organization Lambda Legal, said that she hopes Friday’s decision will have repercussions against current efforts in various states to enact legislation "targeting" homosexuals. "A lot of the reasoning used here by the state comes up again and again," she said. "What the court is saying is, `If you've got a better reason, you would have told us by now. The ones you've come up with are not good enough, and they amount to not liking gay people.'" But Mathew Staver, of the conservative Liberty Counsel organization in Orlando, FL, said that the different treatment was justified by the state’s interest in protecting children and families. Saying that the Supreme Court does not have the right to rewrite the statute, Staver explained, "That’s a legislative function. This is clearly a sign of an activist court system."