Continuing our analysis of Oklahoma’s new Ten Commandments monument, we come to number seven:
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Well, now, that seems innocuous enough on its face. Surely it is not a kindness to cheat on your sexual partner by having sexual liaisons outside of an explicitly monogamous relationship. Certainly I’m glad that my wife and I don’t feel the need to do that.
That said, is it really the role of the government to dictate to people what sort of sexual relationships they should have? Of course, the great conspiracy of chiefs and priests that brought us Biblical theocracy certainly thought so, meting out the death penalty for all sorts of sexual crimes, including adultery. Thankfully, Oklahoma law takes a moderately more progressive view:
§21-871. Adultery defined – Who may institute prosecution.
Adultery is the unlawful voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with one of the opposite sex; and when the crime is between persons, only one of whom is married, both are guilty of adultery. Prosecution for adultery can be commenced and carried on against either of the parties to the crime only by his or her own husband or wife as the case may be, or by the husband or wife of the other party to the crime: Provided, that any person may make complaint when persons are living together in open and notorious adultery.§21-872. Punishment for adultery.
Any person guilty of the crime of adultery shall be guilty of a felony and punished by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary not exceeding five (5) years or by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Five years or five large!? I’ll take the fine, please. Monetary inflation somehow makes this law look even sillier than it was in 1910.
In our running tally of worthy commandments, this one gets zero credit, for the following reason: Marital fidelity out of fear is no fidelity at all.
