LGBT Equal Rights: It's Time to Legalize Sodomy

"The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute... The principle requires liberty of taste and pursuit; of framing the plan of our life to suit our own character; doing as we like, subject to such consequences as may follow; without impediment from our fellow creatures, so long as what we do does not harm them, even though they should think our conduct foolish, perverse or wrong." This quote from John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, lays out the philosophical groundwork for the right to privacy. Although the United States Constitution does not explicitly guarantee this right, the Supreme Court through landmark cases such as Roe v Wade, Griswold v. Connecticut, and Eisenstadt v. Baird have judicially established privacy rights under limited zones relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, childrearing, and education.

The Supreme Court has resolved, by a vote of five to four that the "Constitution provided no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy." (Bowers v. Hardwick) This paper will show that the analysis behind the Bowers v. Hardwick decision was flawed and limited in scope. I believe that the government does not have the right to prohibit homosexual or heterosexual consensual sodomy. Anti-sodomy laws violate the right to privacy, equal protection, and provide no reasonable compelling state interest for these violations.

On August 3, 1982, Michael Hardwick was arrested in Atlanta for the crime of sodomy with a consenting adult male in the privacy of his own bedroom. (Cain, 1612) The Georgia statute provides that "a person commit...

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...ct. 31, 1986.

* Halley, Janet E.; "Reasoning About Sodomy;" Virginia Law Review; Vol. 79:1721; 193 p. 1740-1772.

* Leveno, Elizabeth A.; "New Hope for the New Federalism: State Constitutional Challenges to Sodomy Statutes;" University of Cincinati Law Review; Vol. 62; 1994; p. 1029-1054.

* Lewis, Thomas P.; "Commonwealth v. Wasson: Invalidating Kentucky's Sodomy Statute"; Kentucky Law Journal; Vol. 81; 1992-93; p. 423 - 448.

* Strader, J. Kelly; "Constitutional Challenges to the Criminalization of Same-Sex Sexual Activities: State Interest in HIV-AIDS Issues"; Denver University Law Review; Vol 70, No. 2; 1993, p. 337-357.

* State v. Morales; 826 S.W. 2d 201,202 (Tx. Ct. App. 1992)

* Wiegand, Shirley; "Part of the Moving Stream: State Constitutional Law, Sodomy, and Beyond; Kentucky Law Journal; Vol. 81; 1992-93; p. 449 - 481.