Activists Rejoice Over Court’s Ruling
The
Advocate, June 27, 2003
Gay men and lesbians reacted with relief and triumph
Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that banned gay sex
acts even in private. Gay rights activists, who regarded the sodomy statute
challenge as one of the most important legal cases in decades, said the high
court’s ruling will have a far-reaching impact in guaranteeing equal rights
for gay people. “This is historic,” said Kate Kendall, executive director
of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “There is not a gay person in
this country who has not lived their entire life under the yoke of these laws
existing somewhere.”
The 6-3 decision came in a case brought by two men who in
1998 were charged with breaking Texas’s Homosexual Conduct Law. They were
jailed overnight and ordered to pay $200 fines after police, responding to a
false complaint about an armed intruder, discovered them having sex in their
bedroom. Though seldom enforced by police, the Texas law and similar
provisions in a dozen other states are sometimes invoked by judges to deny gay
people legal custody of their children, equal employment guarantees, and other
civil rights.
“It absolutely signals an entirely changed
landscape,” Kendall said. “It’s impossible to be considered a full and
equal citizen if you’re a criminal in 13 states.” She added that the
decision marks “a cultural change as much as a legal change.”
That the high court’s ruling came in June, the month
traditionally reserved for gay pride celebrations across the country, makes
the victory all the more sweet, advocates said. “Given previous rulings,
it’s extraordinary and it’s inspiring that the court ruled that gays and
lesbians be treated the same as their straight brothers and sisters, no better
and no worse,” said Charles Francis, founder of the Republican Unity
Coalition, a gay-straight organization that counts former president Gerald
Ford and former senator Alan Simpson as honorary members. “Today’s ruling
is not a victory for gays nearly so much as a victory for the four words
carved in stone on the courthouse: Equal Justice Under Law.”
Gay rights groups from Alaska to Florida planned
celebrations for later in the day.
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