For days on end now, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has found himself in a sticky political and personal mess. Having an affair and cheating on the mother of your four boys is bad enough. Sneaking off, lying about your whereabouts, completely abdicating your duties and risking impeachment for malfeasance, that sounds like a deal breaker.
Sanford is no longer listed among the possible contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Why would he be? After all, he could very well be charged with sex crimes, impeached and removed from office. And, he damn well should be.
South Carolina state law codifies adultery among several sex-related offenses punishable by fines and/or imprisonment, not too dissimilar from “buggery” or, rather, sodomy. (Alas, it seems South Carolina’s legal language is just as backward as many aspects of its anti-gay culture.)
From Section 16-15-60 of the South Carolina Code of Laws Chapter 15, Offenses Against Morality and Decency: “Any man or woman who shall be guilty of the crime of adultery or fornication shall be liable to indictment and, on conviction, shall be severally punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than one year or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.”
There’s no doubt Sanford is guilty; he admitted the affair on national television, and he’s gone on to talk at length about the situation in other mediums including Twitter. A prosecutor could bet on a sure-fire win in court. And, Sanford could join the ranks and prison cells of the countless numbers of gay, bisexual and other men convicted of the similar “buggery” charges.
If South Carolina government is truly of the people, by the people and for the people — as all governments in the U.S. ought to be — then Sanford should turn himself in, admit he broke the law and acknowledge that he, like all South Carolinians, is subject to to the full weight of the law and the consequences of his actions. The concept is simple, really. It is called justice. Backward laws that punish private sexual behavior, they’re a double-edged sword.
But, there is a second option. Sanford could “come out” in favor of repealing laws that invade the private homes and bedrooms of consenting adults. He could work to see adultery, buggery and other “big brother,” sex-obsessed and life-shattering laws stricken from the Palmetto State’s code of laws.
Hell, I must be dreaming, high or delusional, and maybe all three. When you’re a big, bad, anti-gay governor, your life motto might as well be, “Screw you and everyone else, too.”
The Associated Press reports that the “antiquated” adultery law hasn’t been used since 1907 and the State Law Enforcement Division said it won’t waste limited funds trying to prosecute or arrest Sanford on the adultery charges.
If South Carolina uses a similar antiquated law to felons out of law-abiding, consenting gay and bisexual adult men, then South Carolina’s lawmakers and courts should hold its own governor to the same standards. Sanford should be charged and indicted on the adultery charges, convicted, impeached for malfeasance and removed from office. Finally, he should serve his six months to a year in jail, pay his fine or both. What’s fair is fair.
Maybe after serving his time in the slammer he’ll rethink his faux-Christian right, anti-gay “family values” mantra and focus instead on real issues that have an impact on real lives.
