American Notes NEW HAMPSHIRE

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's fictional Massachusetts, Hester Prynne wore the scarlet A to betoken her adultery. In 17th century New Hampshire, however, the transgression brought "two sets of 40 lashes" and the letters AD worn on upper garments. Today, adultery in the Granite State can bring a $1,000 fine or up to a year in prison. Soon it may not be a crime at all. The state house has passed a measure that would decriminalize adultery. If the senate follows suit, Republican Governor John Sununu is expected to sign the bill into law.

The repeal move started in December, when Robert Stackelbeck could not get Merrimack police to arrest his estranged wife's boss, whom he accused of having an affair with his wife. So Stackelbeck gathered evidence and filed a citizen's complaint, the first adultery charge in the state since 1950. His wife's lover was later arraigned and is now awaiting trial. The ruckus made lawmakers look skeptically at the anachronistic law. "You could go so far as to say adultery is wrong," said Republican Representative Michael Jones, author of the decriminalization bill. "But it's not the sort of wrong that we as a society want to punish by criminal imposition." Though adultery would remain as a ground for divorce, New Hampshire religious groups oppose the bill because they think the law underscores the importance of marital fidelity. At least 15 states seem to agree: they still brand adultery a crime.