3 Letters: Unjustified Laws
Journal-Constitution, November 29, 1998
72 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Email: journal@ajc.com
Unjustified Law
Finally, Georgia's high court has ruled the state's sodomy law unconstitutional.
Perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court soon will follow suit. Though there never has been any
justification for the state's invasion of the privacy of sexual relations between
consenting adults, fundamentalists from the religious right already are urging the good
ol' boys in the legislature to come up with new laws to once again invade the privacy of
Georgia's citizens. As a Georgia Republican, I applaud our high court's ruling and suggest
that our state's elected officials do the same.
-- Luke Callaway, Atlanta
No Comparison
Three cheers to the Georgia Supreme Court for doing away with the archaic and
unconstitutional sodomy law. It has always amazed me how "social" conservatives
harp about getting government off our backs but feel that the government has a right to be
in bed with us. Equally amazing is that Justice George Carley, in a dissenting opinion,
would try to make the slippery slope comparison of a private consensual sex act to the
damaging effects of drug abuse. It is very unlikely that a person all strung out and high
on sex is going to go out and rob a convenience store.
-- John Farlow, Atlanta
Leave Spiritual Decisions To Others
Almost before the ink was dry on the State Supreme Court's ruling overturning the
state's antiquated sodomy laws, some members of the General Assembly announced their
intention to attempt to amend the state constitution to prohibit again the
"immoral" practice of sodomy. Enough already! Haven't legislators got enough to
do to improve education, clean up our polluted environment and protect us from real
criminals?
Interjecting government into highly personal aspects of our lives makes a mockery of
the words "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and it cheapens the
spiritual values and decisions that people make in consultation with their ministers,
priests, and rabbis and their own consciences.
When the General Assembly goes back in session in January, the members would be
well-advised to stick to an agenda that addresses concerns of the temporal world and let
others with higher callings worry about concerns of the spiritual world.
-- Steve Langford (Langford, a Democrat, is a state senator from LaGrange and was a
1998 candidate for governor.)
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