⚖️ Lawrence v. Texas

Thursday, June 26, 2003 All day

A Texas law that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual conduct furthers no legitimate state interest and violates homosexuals' right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision invalidates all of the remaining sodomy laws in the United States. Decided June 26, 2003 (argued March 26, 2003). Opinion of the Court: Anthony Kennedy → go there Dissenting: Scalia, Thomas. Applied: the Fourteenth Amendment → go there Topic: Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws criminalizing sodomy between consenting adults are unconstitutional. The Court reaffirmed the concept of a "right to privacy" that earlier cases had found the United States Constitution provides, even though it is not explicitly enumerated. It based its ruling on the notions of personal autonomy to define one's own relationships and of American traditions of non-interference with any or all forms of private sexual activities between consenting adults. Wiki link

⚖️ Lawrence v. Texas