Florida Republicans Fight To Keep ‘Cohabitation’ Of Unmarried Couples Illegal

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/01/309647/florida-republicans-fight-to-keep-cohabitation-of-unmarried-couples-illegal/

By Marie Diamond on Sep 1, 2011 at 4:15 pm

Thousands of unmarried couples who are living together in Florida may be surprised to learn that they are actually breaking the law. Under outdated and rarely enforced state laws that have been on the books since the late 1800s, “cohabitation” is actually a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by $500 or up to 60 days in jail. The same penalty applies to adultery – which one Florida woman tried to have enforced for her cheating husband in 2006.

The Sun Sentinel reports that one Florida Republican is commendably trying to repeal these irrelevant laws — only to be met with mass opposition from his fellow Republicans including Gov. Rick Scott (R). These social conservatives won’t support his effort to finally legalize a common practice and would prefer that official condemnation of couples “living in sin” stay enshrined in state law:

[...]

..