https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm...-1934-appendix-d-grounds-judicial-deportation
https://www.aclualabama.org/en/crimes-moral-turpitude
https://dpa.ky.gov/Public_Defender_Resources/Documents/CollateralConsequencesManualFINAL051513.pdf
I am a federal law enforcement officer. With that in mind I'd like to address the term "moral turpitude" as I believe a good deal of grand lodges have this catch all phrase in their laws/rules/code/or whatever else governs the Craft. I have posted three links above dealing with three sovereign jurisdictions stance on moral turpitude.
The justice.gov link speaks of administrative hearings (which I believe is the best context as our Masonic Trials are administrative in nature). It defines Moral Turpitude as: a nebulous concept, which refers generally to conduct that shocks the public conscience.
The State of Alabama has a list of crimes which it determines to be crimes of moral turpitude.
The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy (2013) defines moral turpitude as: Moral turpitude means, in general, shameful wickedness – so extreme a departure from ordinary standards of honest, good morals, justice, or ethics as to be shocking to the moral sense of the community. It has also been defined as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which one person owes to another, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between people.
The common theme between all three of these is: a standard of behavior deemed unacceptable by society.
Homosexual (and many other sexual minorities) have been deemed acceptable by Western society for some time. In the USA this has been done via state laws, federal laws, and various case laws. Moral turpitude is reserved for the worst of the worst: murder, rape, child pornography, acts of terror, etc. Being a relationship with someone of the same sex is not on that level not even close. Yes it may offend an individuals personal morality and yes it may violate certain tenants of certain faith groups. However, society has deemed it morally acceptable.
If we allow our personal/religious beliefs to add additional standards to the Craft do not be surprised when those standards not accepted by society cause society to reject us. If we can have men gather who believe they worship a different god or the only true interpretation of god with men of different creeds it just seems silly to draw a line in the sand in the bedroom. Do we really believe the sacred is negotiable and this we can set aside for the betterment of mankind? But sexual difference we just can't see past? We are better than that.
A few notes:
*admis/mods if this is better suited in another location feel free to move it
*if it is deemed to controversial feel free to delete it
*if a brother more legally educated finds an error in the above please point it out