Florida finally makes it legal for unmarried men and women to live together
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Unmarried couples worried that the long arm of the law would reach into their bedrooms for "living in sin" can rest easy. Shacking up is now legal in Florida.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed SB 498 along with 19 other bills Wednesday. The bill removes Florida's 148-year-old prohibition against unwed couples living together.
The crime of cohabitating unmarried couples was hardly ever enforced, but according to the letter of the law, it was a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or a $300 fine.
Because of the way the ban was worded, it did not apply to same-sex couples, only opposite-sex couples.
"If any man and woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together ... they shall be guilty of a second degree misdemeanor," the former law stated.
The measure passed unanimously in the Senate but received five opposing votes in the House, all from Republicans, including Rep. Jennifer Sullivan of Mount Dora, the youngest member of the Legislature at 24 years old.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/florida-finally-made-it-legal-for-unmarried-couples-to-live-together/
Michigan and Mississippi are the only states left with cohabitation bans.
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