High Court Strikes Down Sodomy Law

[HerMajesty]

WASHINGTON (June 26) - The Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay sex Thursday, ruling that the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy.

The 6-3 ruling reverses course from a ruling 17 years ago that states could punish homosexuals for what such laws historically called deviant sex.

Laws forbidding homosexual sex, once universal, now are rare. Those on the books are rarely enforced but underpin other kinds of discrimination, lawyers for two Texas men had argued to the court.

The men ''are entitled to respect for their private lives,'' Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote.

''The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime,'' he said.

[EnglishRain]

I saw a bit about this earlier tonight on CNN and was very pleased that they ruled those laws unconstitutional. I was so suprised when I first heard awhile back that these kind of laws were still on the books. Personally, I think they intrude way too much on a person's privacy, something the government should have no right to control.

[HerMajesty]

I know! The law was a bit old-fashioned..and I'm glad to see it go. It doesn't really affect me one way or another - but I think that gay/bi/etc people should have a right to relationships just like straight people. There was a gay parade in downtown Houston today..