But there’s no law against in Minnesota against deliberately touching someone’s backside without permission, as long as it’s clothed. In fact, the state’s main sexual conduct statute specifically exempts “intentional touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of the buttocks” from criminal sexual conduct.

This loophole has been on the books since 1988 — not very long in the grand scheme of things but long enough that there’s some ambiguity over how it got there. Now, after 30 years, the legislature is taking steps to make sure that this particular type of inappropriate grabbing will be treated as a crime in the North Star State.