Florida Legislator Wants To Repeal Cohabitation Law

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBSMiami/AP) — A South Florida lawmaker want to make it officially legal for unmarried couples to live together.

Sen. Eleanor Sobel filed a bill Thursday that repeals a long-standing law that makes it a second-degree misdemeanor for men and women to cohabitate if they are not married.

Sobel's bill (SB 1078) would also remove a provision that allows a judge to prevent a parent from having contact with their child if they are convicted of breaking the cohabitation law.

Sobel is a Hollywood Democrat who is chairwoman of the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee.

The law that makes it illegal for unmarried men and women to live together has been on the books for decades. But a previous effort to change the law in 2011 went nowhere.

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