New York Senate votes to repeal adultery law

Published April 4, 2024 7:05pm ET



The New York state Senate approved lawmakers’ repeal of a century-old law that makes adultery in the state a crime on Wednesday.

Initially passed in 1907, the goal of the law was to drive down the divorce rate. At the time, adultery was the only acceptable reason to grant a divorce in the state of New York, making the crime a misdemeanor and punishable by up to three months in jail.

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