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

June 26, 2003

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

"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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