An even bigger victory than I imagined
I just read through the entire text of the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which may turn out to be the biggest legal victory for gay rights in U.S. history. I am not exaggerating.
Not only did the Supreme Court overturn the Texas law forbidding gay sex, but the Court also reversed its own 1986 ruling in the infamous "Bowers" case in Georgia. This alone is significant, because the Supreme Court observes a principle known as "stare decisis" (or deference for previous Court decisions) unless there is a compelling reason to overturn them. In page after page of detailed analysis, the Court clearly finds that it had decided wrongly in Bowers.
Going even further, the Court finds that the Constitution protects the privacy rights of adults to engage in consensual sexual behavior in the privacy of their own homes, without government interference. The Court recognizes that the Texas law (and similar laws) aren't merely about sex, but they affect the "liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions." This has sweeping effects. The immediate impact of this finding is to overturn the laws of 13 states (including my own home state of Virginia) that make it a crime to engage in any form of gay sex.
This is a stunning decision, especially coming from such a conservative Court. It's a huge victory for individual liberties in this country, and not only for gays. The actual decision is 52 pages and contains a lot of legalistic prose, but it's well worth reading if you care about gay rights:
www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/02-102.pdf
Of course, we still have to go to Canada if we want to be legally married....
Not only did the Supreme Court overturn the Texas law forbidding gay sex, but the Court also reversed its own 1986 ruling in the infamous "Bowers" case in Georgia. This alone is significant, because the Supreme Court observes a principle known as "stare decisis" (or deference for previous Court decisions) unless there is a compelling reason to overturn them. In page after page of detailed analysis, the Court clearly finds that it had decided wrongly in Bowers.
Going even further, the Court finds that the Constitution protects the privacy rights of adults to engage in consensual sexual behavior in the privacy of their own homes, without government interference. The Court recognizes that the Texas law (and similar laws) aren't merely about sex, but they affect the "liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions." This has sweeping effects. The immediate impact of this finding is to overturn the laws of 13 states (including my own home state of Virginia) that make it a crime to engage in any form of gay sex.
This is a stunning decision, especially coming from such a conservative Court. It's a huge victory for individual liberties in this country, and not only for gays. The actual decision is 52 pages and contains a lot of legalistic prose, but it's well worth reading if you care about gay rights:
www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/02-102.pdf
Of course, we still have to go to Canada if we want to be legally married....