Texas State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat
from El Paso, has introduced a bill that seeks to end the state's
unenforceable ban on gay sex.
According to the Houston
Chronicle, Moody's House Bill 96 would strike out language
that makes sex between two people of the same sex illegal in Texas.
Lawbreakers face up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
The Supreme Court in 2003 struck down
Texas' law as unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas. While
the law is unenforceable, it remains on the books. The law, approved
in 1974, states: “A person commits an offense if he engages in
deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.”
In 2009, a policeman in El Paso told a
gay couple that they were in violation of the outdated law and
threatened to cite them after they were asked to leave a restaurant
for sharing a kiss.
(Related: Gay
activists protest nixed gay kiss.)
According to a 2012 Gallup poll, more
than 500,000 Texans identify as gay or lesbian.