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Michigan lawmaker wants ban on unmarried couples living together lifted

Posted at 5:24 PM, Jun 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-06 15:24:01-04

You might think you live in circles of law abiding citizens, but one lawmaker says due to an old law on the books you very likely know someone who is a lawbreaker.  

It is a law passed in 1931 that aims to stop what it calls “gross lewdness.”

In Michigan  if you aren’t married to each other, it is illegal for couples to live together in a quote “lewd and lascivious manner”.  Violating this law carries a sentence of an up to $1,000 fine and one year in jail.

“It is one is definitely one that needs to go,” said Rep. Stephanie Chang (D)-Detroit of the law.

She has introduced a bill that would repeal it.

“It would be a mess to enforce this law and clearly it isn’t being enforced,” said Chang. “That is all the more reason to get rid of it.”

Chang says Michigan is one of three states in the country with such a law on the books.