[News-releases] Supreme Court Strikes Down Antiquated Sodomy Laws

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Supreme Court Strikes Down Antiquated Sodomy Laws, Upholds Constitutional
Right to Privacy

June 26, 2003

"The Supreme Court's decision today in Lawrence v. Texas has
affirmed that the Constitutional right to privacy is off limits to the
morality police," said National Organization for Women (NOW)
President Kim Gandy. "States have no business snooping into, much
less busting into, the bedrooms of consenting adults. Sodomy laws, like
those in Texas and in my home state of Louisiana, are a clear violation
of the right to privacy that we cherish in this country, as well as a
violation of our civil rights and civil liberties. Feminists and other
advocates of equal rights for same-sex couples applaud the Court's
decision."

   

        

John Lawrence and Tyron Garner, were arrested and convicted under the
Texas sodomy law after sheriff's deputies, responding to a false report
of an armed intruder, burst into Lawrence's home. The men challenged the
statute on grounds that it violates their Constitutional right to privacy
and their right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution. In striking down the Texas law, the Supreme Court also
overruled its own 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision.

        

"The majority invoked Roe v. Wade, also based on the right to
privacy, in support of the decision," Gandy said. "We still
have a long way to go in achieving full equality, but the Court's
recognition that all women and men, regardless of their sexuality, have a
Constitutional right to privacy is a huge step forward."

"The outcome of Lawrence v. Texas underscores the importance
of protecting the Supreme Court - and the entire federal judiciary - from
Bush's attempt to stack the courts with religious and political
extremists," Gandy said. "Although the outcome was based on a
6-3 vote, only five justices supported the right to privacy as the basis
of the decision - a reminder of the Court's delicate balance and what is
at stake with the next resignation from the Court.  If such a
vacancy is filled by a justice in the mold of ultraconservative Antonin
Scalia - who compared homosexuality with bestiality and incest, and
criticized the majority for siding with a "so-called homosexual
agenda" - civil rights and women's rights will be set back for
decades. NOW's Save the Court mobilization will press Senators to confirm
justices who will uphold civil rights laws rather than using the Court to
advance conservative social policy."

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