Adulterers in NH face $1,200 fine instead of a spot on the gallows with noose around neck

Adultery still crime in NH after 200 years

CONCORD, N.H. — The original punishments — including standing on the gallows for an hour with a noose around the neck — have been softened to a $1,200 fine, but the unenforced 200-year-old crime of adultery still is on New Hampshire’s books.

Seven months after the state approved gay marriage, lawmakers will consider easing government further from the bedroom with a bill to repeal the law.

Durham Democrat Timothy Horrigan is co-sponsoring the repeal bill. Horrigan believes the state should not regulate people’s sex lives.

But Kevin Smith, executive director of Cornerstone Policy Research, says repealing the law would weaken families by diminishing the harmful effects of adultery.