The CAN law is not the only state law that regulates sexual relationships. All 50 states once had sodomy laws on the books. Thirty-two states have now repealed or struck down these laws. Although people are rarely convicted of violating the CAN law or the cohabitation law, the existence of these laws allows for discrimination in custody cases, housing, and employment. For example, landlords can refuse to rent to unmarried couples, lesbians, and gay men under the guise that they do not want to aid in a crime.
Employers can use the same rationale to deny people jobs.
The pretense of not wanting to aid and abet a crime provides a convenient justification for discriminating against people for other reasons, such as sexual orientation, race, religious beliefs, or class. Policymakers, including legislators and judges, have used the CAN law to discriminate against lesbians and gay men. This law requires public schools that provide AIDS education to tell students about the legal status of homosexual acts. While the bill's sponsors implied that all homosexual acts are illegal in NC, they are not. Only oral and anal sex are illegal, and those acts are illegal between heterosexuals as well.