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Thanks for the compliment. But I have a query, MegaSilver. Do you think that bestiality and incest should be legal, so long as the acts are not in the public eye?

Excellent point.

I'm not sure, to be honest. In the case of incest, though, I would have to say DEFINITELY not, as there is a potential victim (if a child is conceived, the chances are great that he or she will have severe, life-altering defects).

Overall, though, laws against adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bestiality, etc. are largely unenforcable and not really deterrents to the acts. I think the key is to try to create the social fabric in which such acts are frowned upon, but criminal? I'm not sure...

To your point on incest. The laws of heredity do not guarantee that the product of incest will have deformities. After all, the selective breeding that creates the faster race horse or the winner of the Westminster Dog Show is often incest. Secondly, there is always the case that the parties involved can be "fixed" and therefore remove this problem.

As to creating the societal fabric where such acts are frowned upon, criminalizing them is part of creating the fabric. A criminal penalty signals society's disapproval of the act where decriminalization signals society's acceptance of the act.

Also, regarding the enforcement of these laws, I must beg to differ. Why are they unenforceable? For years, adultery was proven in court by party seeking a fault judgment in divorces. Fornication is quite easy to prove in the case of unwed pregnancy.

Homosexuality and bestiality are more difficult to prove. However, many crimes face this difficulty. Financial crimes often require forensic accountants. Thieves are not often caught in the act but tracked down or caught selling their loot. Surely the difficulty of proving a crime does not mean it is unenforceable.

As to deterrence, the question would likely be one of degree. Just as there are those who do not use drugs because of the legal consequences involved.

Have you read Devlin's Enforcement of Morals? It's out of print but very good. He addresses many of the concerns in morals legislation.