That only took 148 years.
Unmarried couples living together in Florida can relax now that they no longer have to worry about paying a fine or even going to jail for shacking up together. Not that the law against it was adamantly enforced, according to an article in the Miami Herald by Kristen Clark.
From the article:
Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Wednesday that immediately repeals Florida’s 148-year-old ban on cohabitation.
The previous law, enacted in 1868, made it a second-degree misdemeanor — punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine — for a man and a woman to “lewdly and lasciviously associate” and live together before marriage.
For the few that did get charged for breaking the law, there was usually an alternate motive from law enforcement.
For instance, according to the article, in 1979, the state suspended a company’s liquor license after finding six company employees or representatives had violated the cohabitation law.
