Arkansas Judge Refuses To Dismiss Suit Challenging Gay Sodomy Law
The Commercial Appeal,
June 24, 1998
P. O. Box 334
Memphis, TN 38101
Fax 901-529-6445
letters@gomemphis.com
The Associated Press
Chancellor Collins Kilgore refused Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging an Arkansas
law barring homosexual sex.
The state attorney general's office had asked that the lawsuit be dismissed and Kilgore
conducted a hearing in the case last month.
The suit was filed by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund of New York. The
organization said that the sodomy law created a second-class status for homosexuals. The
state said the law doesn't need to be struck from the books because it isn't being
enforced.
The law outlaws homosexual sex and carries maximum penalties of one year in jail and a
$1,000 fine.
"We are pleased with the ruling because the court recommended that the plaintiffs
should have their day in court to challenge the harm they suffer under this
unconstitutional law," Suzanne B. Goldberg, Lambda attorney, said.
The state's motion to dismiss was filed in February. There is no controversy to justify
the lawsuit, the attorney general's office said.
Kilgore said Arkansas case law does not directly answer the question raised by the
state. But he cited a Supreme Court decision that said a licensed fisherman had standing
to challenge a regulation limiting the size of fish that could be taken from Lake Maumelle
because the regulation would have affected his rights.
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