10 U.S.C. § 925
Section 925 · Art. 125. Sodomy
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 361 court decisions — leading case Watkins v. United States Army (1989)
Most recently applied in Fisk v. State (December 2017)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 10 U.S.C. § 934 · 10 U.S.C. § 866 · 10 U.S.C. § 859
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully—
(1) seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, or carries away another person; and
(2) holds the other person against that person's will;
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
925(b)
50:719(b).
Amendments
2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to the offenses of forcible sodomy and bestiality.
2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted "unlawful force" for "force".
2013—Pub. L. 113–66 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows:
"(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.
"(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."
Effective Date of 2016 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.