Florida
From the Wall Street Journal
The world knows her only as Meg, and she died a horrific death: accidentally asphyxiated, allegedly by a man who was sexually assaulting her. Police identified a suspect but were unable to prosecute him. All because the victim was a goat.
"Florida is one of only 16 states that still permit bestiality," explains the Miami Herald in a report from Tallahassee, the state capital. But that may be about to change, thanks to the efforts of Sen. Nan Rich, a Fort Lauderdale-area Democrat. Last week a Senate committee approved her legislation to make sex with animals a felony:
Rich's legislation would target only those who derived or helped others derive ''sexual gratification'' from an animal, specifying that conventional dog-judging contests and animal-husbandry practices are permissible.
That last provision tripped up Miami Democratic Sen. Larcenia Bullard.
''People are taking these animals as their husbands? What's husbandry?'' she asked. Some senators stifled their laughter as Sen. Charlie Dean, an Inverness Republican, explained that husbandry is raising and caring for animals. Bullard didn't get it.
''So that maybe was the reason the lady was so upset about that monkey?'' Bullard asked, referring to a Connecticut case where a woman's suburban chimpanzee went mad and was shot.
After the unanimous committee vote, Rich predicted the bill would pass this year. She said bestiality used to be illegal in Florida, but the statute was ruled unconstitutional for being too broad.
That explains why the bill exempts "dog judging" as well as animal husbandry. Rich's law is sure to be upheld if it goes before a canine court.