Unnatural intercourse law; revise to remove "mankind" from.
Summary
House Bill 1488 amends Mississippi Code Section 97-29-59, the state’s “crime against nature” or unnatural intercourse statute, by deleting the word “mankind” from the existing language. The bill does not change the underlying offense, penalty, or scope of the statute beyond this wording revision. The statute would continue to provide that a person convicted under the law may be imprisoned for up to ten years.
The measure is a narrow textual update to a long-standing criminal statute and is set to take effect on July 1, 2025. Based on the bill text alone, it appears to be a housekeeping or modernization change rather than a substantive policy overhaul, with the legal effect limited to the wording of the offense description in the Mississippi Code.
Impact
HB1488 would amend Section 97-29-59 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, which governs the offense commonly referred to as the unnatural intercourse or crime against nature law. The bill removes the word “mankind” from the statutory phrase while leaving the rest of the provision intact, including the maximum penalty of up to ten years’ imprisonment. Its practical impact is limited to statutory language and does not alter the punishment or create a new offense, but it does affect the text used by courts, prosecutors, and defense counsel when citing the law.
Sentiment
There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from legislative discussion. From the bill’s narrow scope and wording, the general sentiment appears neutral and technical, suggesting an intent to update or clean up statutory language rather than provoke a major policy debate.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record because there are no committee transcripts or votes. If any disagreement were to arise, it would likely center on whether the change is merely stylistic or whether revising archaic criminal language could have broader implications for interpretation of the statute. However, the bill text itself does not indicate any change to enforcement, penalties, or the underlying criminal prohibition.