Activist groups have initiated an aggressive cam- paign to repeal Article 103 of the Penal Code,
which defines sodomy as a criminal act
and promotes an atmosphere of
intolerance and violence
against sexual
minorities.
Puerto Rico is one of three countries in Latin America, along with Chile and Nicaragua, where both consensual and nonconsensual same-sex sexual relations are still legally defined as a crime.
Activist groups in all three countries are working hard
to repeal the laws which penalize these practices. Such
groups succeeded in overturning Ecuador’s sodomy
law last November. In Puerto Rico, the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights Project is
engaged in a similar grassroots campaign to decrimi-
nalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Sexual activity between people of the same sex has
been a crime in Puerto Rico since 1902, when the gov-
ernment adopted a penal code based almost entirely on
that of the state of California. Before then, same-sex
sexual practices were not penalized. Article 103 of the
Penal Code defines the crime of sodomy as “any person
who has sexual relations with a person of the same sex,
or commits the crime contra natura with another
human being.” The Latin term, contra natura (against
nature), includes anal and oral sex among heterosexuals
as well as all homosexual practices, which are penal-
ized with mandatory ten-year sentences. In effect, the
law punishes all sexual acts other than penis-vagina
penetration.
Article 103 is currently not enforced in Puerto Rico,
but it can be used at any moment, against any indivi-
dual. Some argue that it would be very difficult to pros-
ecute someone on the charge of sodomy given that an
individual’s privacy would have to be violated in order
to produce the kind of evidence necessary to file a
complaint. Yet Puerto Rican officials insist that same-
sex relations must remain criminalized in order to send
the message that the state does not encourage such con-
duct. It is unfortunate that constitutional rights are so
easily sacrificed in the name of impeding undesired
behavior, since such rights actually exist to prevent
excesses by the state. The absence of a penal statute
does not mean that the practices in question are being
Mildred Braulio is a lawyer and the spokesperson for the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights Project, based in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. This article originally appeared in the
November 6, 1997 issue of Claridad.
Translated from the Spanish by Lawrence M. La Fountain-Stokes.
VOL XXXI, NO 4 JAN/FEB 1998 33REPORT ON SEXUAL POLITICS
The state too easily sacrifices constitutional rights in
the name of impeding undesired behavior. The
freedom to engage in activities which
promoted. It merely indicates bring no harry that they are not legally prohib- ited. The freedom to engage in involved sl activities which bring no harm to the parties involved should not be terrain for state intervention. We do not need terrain more crimes without victims; we need less victims of crime. intert The definition of sodomy as a criminal act, moreover, promotes an atmosphere of intolerance that generates crimes of violence against nonhetero- Sexual. Ihe mere exitIIence of 1
legislation that singles out spe-
cific sexual practices identified
with gays and lesbians has
repercussions on the popula-
tion as a whole and on sexual
minorities in particular. Article
103 sends the message that
such sexual practices are inap-
propriate and immoral. What-
ever else is related to these
practices-including love and
partnership-is also implicitly
prohibited. The fact that the
sexual activity of lesbians,
gays, bisexuals and transgen-
dered people is marked as
deviant and criminal turns us
into delinquents. Being a delin-
quent in this society makes one not wnrthv of reqnecnt Wec.n .
then be trampled on, discriminated against and margin-
alized, and we easily become objects of violence and
contempt.
rticle 103 specifically singles out nonheterosex-
ual persons by criminalizing our sexual activi-
ties and what we do with our bodies in pri-
vate-aspects of people’s lives that should be respected
and protected by the Constitution. There is no law that
prohibits two people of the same sex from holding
hands, dancing in public places, hugging or kissing. Yet
these practices are avoided in public for fear of rejec-
tion and of physical and verbal violence. This rejection
and violence, in turn, create an environment in which
n to the parties further demands for these kinds of prohibitions can
hould not be emerge. Amnesty International has
recently recognized that discrimina- for state tion and violence against individuals
because of their sexual orientation is a
Mention. violation of their human rights. Amnesty
recommends that governments revise or repeal
legislation that leads to the detention of persons
because of their homosexual identity or for homo-
SOXUal aCL Com IIIIIILLedU by
adults in mutual agreement
and in private. The current
trend in the United States is
De Ledn towards the decrimi-
eporters nalization of same-
‘g her- sex sexual practices. he Such laws have been sodomy abolished in 24 states,
and have been declared uncon-
stitutional in four others.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender (LGBT) Hu-
man Rights Project initiated a
campaign to repeal the sodomy
law in Puerto Rico by collect-
ing signatures from people and
organizations who support the
campaign. These petitions
were sent to the presidents of the cointrv’R two leP.ilntive
chambers. The group has also sent letters to all members
of Congress and has held meetings with a number of
them. Some have demonstrated interest and even sup-
port for our struggle, and we hope that one of them will
decide to present a motion before the legislature to
repeal Article 103. For this to happen, it is up to us to
make sure that they feel the strength of our community
and of those who support us.
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