The Lawrence v Texas Supreme Court Ruling on Same-sex Activities

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In Houston, TX back in 2002, the police responded to a reported weapons disturbance situation at the home of John Lawrence. Upon entering Lawrence’s home, police found him and a man named Tyron Garner engaging in sexual acts. Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse in violation of a Texas statute. This statute forbids two persons of the same sex to engage in intimate sexual conduct (Lawrence and Garner v. Texas). Due Process and Liberty Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment protected the men’s privacy. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Lawrence and Garner, testifying that the State of Texas had no “right to prohibit any sexual conduct between consenting adults” (Olson). Lawrence v. Texas is extremely controversial now because it poses the idea that the government should uphold the same standard for same sex marriages and other same sex acts and not just same sex intercourse relationships. The 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court is an important case when regarding domestic same sex rights. This ruling has brought forth many other concerns and q...

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