Utah legislature enacts law against "Sodomy" by "any man or boy," but removes sodomy from criminal code on 6 Mar. 1852, without explanation. As governor Brigham Young signs both laws. Due to absence of sodomy statute, Utah judge drops charges against soldier for raping LDS boy in 1864. Young claims Utah's legislators never criminalìzed sodomy and he declines to instruct them to do so for next twelve years. Utah legislators criminalize sodomy in 1876 only because federally appointed governor asks them to adopt entire Criminal Code of California which has five-year imprisonment for sodomy. For next twenty years LDS judges give 3-6 months of imprisonment to those convicted of homosexual rape, the same sentencing given to young males and females convicted of consensual fornication. Mormons of this era give no known explanations for any of these legislative and judicial actions/inactions.
[Source: The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database (http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase)]]
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