Adultry
 

Do you think adultry should be a punishable crime?
Do you it would keep spouses from cheating?
Do you think it would stop people from jumping into marriage?

Discuss...

The meaning of adultery/monogamy doesn't hold the same basis in today's society as it did in the past http://www.ashleymadsion.com

We don’t have enough jails to enforce this idea! :D lol

I don’t think it should be a crime, although I have been reading lately that spouses of adulters are now SUEING the other spouse and/or the person that they cheated with! :eek:

Sadly, marriage for some people have become nothing more than a piece of paper likened to a rental agreement that you sign when you rent an apartment and not as a lifetime vow before God.

I don’t think it would keep a person from cheating either or jumping into marriage. At the time when a person gets married they’re thinking that everything is “coming up roses” and there is NO WAY they would cheat on their spouse. No one ever anticipated being cheated on so the couple will probably not even take it into consideration when getting married.

Adultry is a bad thing. I don't think they should go to jail, but some kind of record listing how many times a person cheated on their spouce anyone could view would be interesting.

The type of people who are going to cheat are going to do it anyways, regardless of any law. Those who aren't planning on it, the law won't change their actions at all. If someone doesn't respect or regard the law then there's no chance of him/her following it. In the state of Alabama (I believe) it's still illegal to have oral, anal, or non-missionary position sex. We're ALL going to jail! :p

and another thought...some people might claim that it's trying to "legislate morality" because in some value systems adultery wouldn't necessarily be "punishable".

How is this the business of anyone but the parties involved?

Also, as Honeykiss said, we don't have enough jails to enforce this if it were a law, and we certainly don't need anymore lawsuits in this country.

A marriage, or the equivalent for same-sex couples, is in part a vow that you will maintain a monogamous lifestyle with your partner as long as you are both alive. (Or, more accurately, it should be.) That is a vow that you and your partner make to each other before witnesses, including your friends and family, an individual authorized by the state to conduct marriages (justice of the peace, priest, rabbi, etc), and (if a religious ceremony) before whatever God or gods you believe in.

You could argue that the adulterer broke his/her vow to his/her spouse, thereby hurting his/her spouse, and that therefore the adulterer should be punished. I'd think that any punishment meted out by the courts (at least for a first offense) would be something along the lines of community service, rather than being locked up long-term (or stoned to death :eek: ).

If there were a punishment for adultery, I think some people would do it anyway, but it might deter some others.

since marriage is a contract, i rather like the idea of suing a spouse for infidelity. i can't imagine that you could really get much of a settlement, but i think a settlement giving the hurt spouse some kind of satisfaction would make some feel better (not all).

this is ridiculous. people sue each other enough these days why would you want to make it lawful to sue someone for cheating? adultry is bad but it should not be punishable by law.

I think that people who are caught in adultry should be stoned to death!

Hey, it says so in The Bible!

Obviously, I'm not serious, but it makes as much sense as some of the arguments about gay people just because they're taken to task in the same book.

Seriously, there's no real way to enforce laws about adultry in my estimation.

By the way, let he/she who is without sin, cast the first stone...

How does one legislate one's genitalian(?) acts?

Adultery should be punished by whatever moral authority you cling to - ie if you're religious, let God punish, etc.

I think laws against adultery would be ridiculous - that's legislating morality, which is a tenuous and risky proposition.

However - here's a situation that might flip the script for some of you:

A partner cheats with another person, and is infected with, say, HIV or HBV - something with no real treatment available. This is then passed to the partner through marital intercourse - should the spouse have legal recourse in that sort of case?

It's an interesting thought - a sort of 'poisoning via sex'

Naaah, that could be us on that side of the coin one day lol ;)

One can say the same when one's loved one is murdered and the murderer is put to death due to capital punishment...

Either way, and ultimately, the person who is suffering must deal with it, one way or another...

I personally have no objections to adultry. It's hard to object to something if you're unsure what it is.

Adultery, on the other hand, is pretty terrible. But, since each couple is different, we would have to let them deal with it and its consequences the way that they wish. Some women are willing to deal with a philandering husband for decades; others will bail at the mere hint of infidelity. Everyone has their reasons. Since the law isn't that subjective, it's difficult, if not downright impossible, to create a legal punishment.