Lawmakers in Guadalajara hope change will allow police to ‘focus on serious crime’
A Mexican city has changed its laws to allow people to have sex in public or “exhibit” themselves sexually, provided no one complains to the police.
Lawmakers in Guadalajara, updated their current legislation to make it perfectly legal to have sexual intercourse in a public place, unless a third party makes a complaint, according to NBC Miami.
The modification to article 14 of the Bylaws of Good Government now states:
“Having sexual relations or committing acts of exhibitionism of a sexual nature in public places, vacant lots, inside vehicles or in private locations in public view will be considered administrative offenses, as long as a citizen requests police intervention.”
According to the Daily Wire, the police will reportedly only fine or detain the lovers if other citizens complain.
The changes were reportedly made to let the police focus on combating more serious crime instead of public sexual acts.
The change reportedly has citizens concerned over pedophiles and rapists having easier access to abuse victims.
The Independent reports: The move is intended to prevent police in Guadalajara, a city of 1.5 million people, from extorting couples who “give their love” to each other in public, said a councilor who presented the initiative.
The city council last week pushed through the reform, which now states that “having sexual relations or committing acts of exhibitionism of a sexual nature in public places” is perfectly legal.
Guadalupe Morfin Otero, the politician who proposed the change, cited a survey among university students in which 90 percent said they had experienced extortion by officers who accused them of immoral acts or exhibitionism.
Lawmakers hope the change will allow police to focus on fighting more serious crimes, according to Mexican newspaper El Universal.
However, in a city considered one of the most conservative in Mexico, the move was opposed by both the National Action and Institutional Revolutionary parties, who instead urged the council to focus on rooting out corruption in the police directly.