[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5252 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5252

To establish the right of adults to engage in private, non-commercial, 
      consensual sexual conduct in the exercise of their liberty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 14, 2022

     Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, and Mrs. 
  Feinstein) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the right of adults to engage in private, non-commercial, 
      consensual sexual conduct in the exercise of their liberty.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Right to Private Conduct Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``adult'' means an individual who has 
attained the lesser of--
            (1) 18 years or age; or
            (2) the minimum age at which an individual may consent to 
        sexual conduct under applicable State law.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT OF ADULTS TO ENGAGE IN PRIVATE, NON-
              COMMERCIAL, CONSENSUAL SEXUAL CONDUCT.

    (a) In General.--No person acting under color of law may--
            (1) prevent an adult from engaging in private, non-
        commercial, consensual sexual conduct with another adult;
            (2) interfere with an adult engaging in private, non-
        commercial, consensual sexual conduct with another adult; or
            (3) intimidate, threaten, or retaliate against an adult 
        because that adult has engaged or may engage in such conduct 
        with another adult.
    (b) Enforcement.--For the purposes of violations under subsection 
(a), the enforcement mechanism provided for and available under the 
following shall apply:
            (1) Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United 
        States (42 U.S.C. 1983).
            (2) Section 241 of title 18, United States Code.
            (3) Section 242 of title 18, United States Code.
            (4) Section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law 
        Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601).
    (c) Clarification.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any law 
(including any regulation) prohibiting public sexual conduct, forced or 
non-consensual sexual conduct, or sexual conduct with a minor.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) In General.--In interpreting the provisions of this Act, a 
court shall liberally construe such provisions to effectuate the 
purpose of ensuring the right of an adult to engage in private, non-
commercial, consensual sexual conduct with another adult.
    (b) Other Laws.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
invalidate, limit, or displace the rights, remedies, procedures, or 
legal standards available to individuals under Federal law, or to 
supersede State laws, that provide protections against discrimination 
beyond those provided in this Act.
    (c) Other Individuals Considered as Acting Under Color of Law.--Any 
person who, by operation of a provision of Federal or State law, is 
permitted to implement or enforce a limitation, prohibition, or 
requirement that violates section 3 of this Act shall be considered as 
acting under color of law for purposes of this Act.

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision 
to any person, entity, government, or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to all other persons, entities, governments, or 
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
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