Section 377 of the penal code prohibits heterosexual and homosexual sodomy with punishments including up to twenty years in prison and/or fines and flogging.

The precise legal definition of state law prohibiting sodomy (or "crimes against nature") was a frequent legal dispute in the United States as early as the early 1800s.

There are also several Hadith which prohibit sodomy.

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Court struck down a Texas statute prohibiting homosexual sodomy on substantive due process grounds.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces heard one case in October that challenged the military's statute prohibiting sodomy, and five related cases are pending.

The military, and many states where military installations are situated, have laws prohibiting sodomy that would need to be changed to be consistent with the new policy.

Clinton transition aides said they did not expect the new Administration to ask Congress to change the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibits sodomy.