The Williams Institute

Idaho is the only state to have reinstated its felony sodomy law after it was taken off the books; public outcry about the 1971 elimination of the state’s law making homosexual conduct subject to felony conviction led the Idaho legislature to reinstate the old criminal code in 1972. Despite Lawrence v. Texas, Idaho has not repealed its sodomy law. Thus, Idaho’s public code continues to characterize sodomy as “the infamous crime against nature,” punishable by imprisonment of not less than five years. Idaho does not include LGBT persons in any protected category for the purpose of employment discrimination. A bill that would have prohibited employers with more that five employees (including the State of Idaho but excepting certain religious organizations) from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity was proposed in the Idaho Senate on January 21, 2008. The bill was defeated in February of 2009. Similar bills have failed in the past.