Bill Would End Florida Cohabitation Ban
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) – Did you know that couples who live together in the state of Florida are actually breaking the law if they're not married?
"You are joking," one man told CBS4's Jorge Estevez on Lincoln Road Wednesday.
The Florida law is 798.02 and states: "If any man and woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second-degree."
Punishment for breaking the statute is a $500 fine, and up to 60 days in jail.
The law was originally created because Florida was an at fault divorce state and separating parties would use the cohabitation law to prove adultery in court.
But now, state representative Ritch Workman from Central Florida is on a mission to repeal the law.
"Laws on the books take away a little piece of our liberty," Workman said. "The fact that it could be enforced, takes away our freedoms."
Dr. Paul George is a history teacher at Miami-Dade College and said repealing a law like this is common.
"They see how earlier laws are and if they apply today," George said. "If they don't apply to today, there is often time a move to get rid of that law."
Couples CBS4 spoke with said not only is the law ridiculous, but couples believe living together is a good thing.
"I would always advocate that my kids would live with their future partner and if they are happy together, then they can get married," said a father Estevez spoke to Wednesday.
