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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2002)
20.2002 nTÎTÏÏTITHlnews T he U .S. Supreme Court an nounced Dec. 2 that it will hear a case challenging the constitution ality of Texas’s “Homosexual C on duct” Law, which criminalizes oral and anal sex by consenting couples and is used widely to justify discrimination against gay men and lesbians. U.S. Supreme Court agrees “This is a significant step forward because it means the court has seen the serious constitu to hear Texas sodomy case tional problems with these laws and is willing to C om piled bv Jim R ad o sta look at them closely,” lead attorney Ruth Har low said. “We now have an opportunity to con increased exponentially since 1986, and we vince the court to remedy the widespread harms believe a more informed view of constitutional to lesbian and gay people caused by Texas’ law protections for gay people can now prevail.” and others like it." Since the 1986 decision, Lambda Legal has Lambda Legal represents John Lawrence and helped strike down similar laws in numerous Tyron Gamer, who were arrested in Lawrence’s state courts, including Montana, Tennessee and Houston home and jailed overnight after offi Georgia. In July, the Arkansas Supreme Court cers responding to a false report from an ruled in favor of seven gay men and lesbians acquaintance found the men engaged in private, Justices will hear oral arguments in the case this spring who said the state’s sex ban jeopardized their consensual sex. Once convicted, they were least in part on such statutes include: a Missis lesbians in everyday life. These statutes typical employment, their legal relationships with their forced to pay fines and now are considered sex children and their standing as equal citizens. sippi man who was denied custody of his own ly ban oral and anal sex with penalties ranging offenders in several states. The U.S. Supreme Court, which agrees to child; a Georgia woman who was rejected for from fines to 20 years in prison. “The state should not have the power to go hear about 2 percent of the cases brought to it The Supreme Court will hear arguments on government employment; a lesbian minister in into the bedrooms of consenting adults in the each year, has heard only a handful of cases about Puerto Rico who was told not to testify at a leg whether the Texas statute violates the U.S. middle of the night and arrest them,” Harlow the rights of gay men and lesbians. “The court has said. “But that’s only the beginning of the dam islative hearing; two lesbian foster mothers in Constitution’s guarantee that laws must protect recognized that this is a tremendously important Texas whose foster child was taken from their and apply to people equally, as well as whether it age done by this law and others like it around case for gay people and for all who believe in basic the country. These laws are widely used to justi home; and a North Carolina man whose two violates the right to privacy. In 1986, the court constitutional freedoms, and it did the right thing sons were taken away from him. ruled that Georgia’s law banning consensual fy discrimination against gay people in everyday life; they’re invoked in denying employment to In addition to Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Okla sodomy did not violate privacy rights. In bring by allowing us to be heard,” Harlow said. “We’re ing the Texas case, Lambda Legal asked the jus looking forward to making a powerful and con gay people, in refusing custody or visitation for homa and Puerto Rico still have consensual vincing case that these laws are an affront to tices to reconsider that ruling. sodomy laws that apply only to gay people. Nine gay parents and even in intimidating gay people equality, invade the most private sphere of adult “It’s tremendously significant that the court out of exercising their First Amendment rights.” states— Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, is revisiting a previous ruling that has done sub life and harm gay people in so many ways.” Laws like the one in Texas are used as an Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Lambda Legal’s opening brief is due in mid- stantial harm to gay Americans for so many Virginia and U tah— still have consensual excuse for generally denying basic rights and sodomy laws that apply to straight and gay years,” Harlow said. “Society’s knowledge about January. The court will hear oral arguments in equal treatment to gay men and lesbians. gay people, gay families and gay lives has I the case this spring. J H adults but are invoked only against gay men and Recent high-profile cases specifically relying at W ill W e T ake I t U p the A s s ? 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