Gay, Lesbian Activists Target Maryland Law Southeast County Briefs
Baltimore Sun,
August 26, 1998
501 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21278
Fax: 410-332-6977
Email: letters@baltsun.com
By Caitlin Francke, Sun Staff
Lesbian and gay activists are challenging a 1916 Maryland law they say criminalizes
their sex lives. Their lawsuit is part of a national campaign to wipe off the books
similar state laws across the country.
The activists and civil libertarians have targeted Maryland and other states—such as Arkansas—which they say have laws that single out homosexuals.
Maryland’s law makes it illegal for people of the same gender to engage in oral
sex. They can face up to 10 years in prison under the law. The law makes anal sex illegal
for all. Though the plaintiffs concede the criminal laws are rarely enforced against
people engaging in consensual sex behind closed doors, they say the anti-sodomy law has
other ramifications. The law is used as ammunition in child custody cases and as the basis
for job discrimination, they charge.
"Maryland and Arkansas are being very closely watched around the country by the
gay community," said Arthur Leonard, a professor at New York Law School and author of
"Sexuality and The Law." "I think [such suits] are going to continue.
It’s just a question of resources."
Baltimore Circuit Judge Richard T. Rombro will decide whether to allow the suit to go
forward. A decision is expected soon.
About 20 states have sodomy statutes. Michael Adams, an attorney with the American
Civil Liberties Union’s National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project who is working on the
Maryland case, said his organization and others have been focusing on challenging the
statutes, particularly those in six states—including Maryland—that
distinguish between sexual orientation. Heterosexuals, in Maryland for example, may engage
in oral sex.
Suits attacking the laws have been filed in Arkansas, Kansas, Puerto Rico and
Louisiana.
In two court cases, a man and a woman in Texas were denied jobs on the Dallas police
force because they were gay and sodomy laws made them criminals. A 1993 ruling from the
Texas Court of Appeals forbid the Dallas police force from using the sodomy law to deny
employment.
The plaintiffs say the law violates their right to privacy and equal protection. For
Baltimore lawyer Catherine M. Brennan, the fact that the law is on the books is wrong.
The law "is repugnant," said Brennan, who is a lesbian. "I would like
for the law of Maryland not to have built into it an irrational bias" against
homosexuals.
The Maryland suit, filed in February, names as plaintiffs Brennan; Bruce Williams, a
city councilman in Takoma Park; his partner, Geoffrey Burkhart, an anthropology professor
at American University; Lawrence S. Jacobs, a corporate attorney and civic activist in
Rockville; "John Doe," a federal employee who was arrested in Anne Arundel
County; and Paula J. Peters, an Annapolis taxpayer who objects to government money spent
on enforcing anti-sodomy policies.
The defendants are Gov. Parris N. Glendening; state Attorney General J. Joseph Curran
Jr; Baltimore Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier; Anne Arundel County Executive John G.
Gary; and Anne Arundel police Chief Larry W. Tolliver.
Attorneys for the defendants maintain that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the
law is not enforced against homosexuals engaged in private, consensual sex. They have
filed affidavits from Frazier and an Anne Arundel County police supervisor attesting that
no residents in those jurisdictions have been arrested for such crimes.
"It’s not a concern of law-enforcement authorities about what goes on behind
closed doors," said Assistant Attorney General Andrew H. Baida, who is defending the
state. "It’s a non-issue."
The state is fighting to keep the law, Baida said, because it is used in criminal cases
where the act is not consensual, such as rape. Any changes to the law should be decided in
the legislature, not the courts, he said.
"This case is not a vehicle for the courts to exercise legislative judgment,"
Baida said.
Baida said the plaintiffs have not shown that they have suffered from criminal or civil
actions because of their sexual orientation.
"This is all purely hypothetical stuff," Baida said.
But the hypothetical has Lawrence Jacobs—one of the plaintiffs—worried.
One day he might want to be a judge. If asked whether he has ever broken the law in
Maryland, Jacobs, 48, fears he will have to say yes. Jacobs—who was once married
and has a son—ended a 13-year relationship with a man last year.
The plaintiffs say that the statute is being enforced. Because sodomy is a crime,
asking someone to participate also is a crime and people are being arrested, the
plaintiffs say.
They point to plaintiff Doe. Adams said Doe was charged with solicitation in 1995 in
Anne Arundel County after being approached by an undercover police officer. The two agreed
to "engage in private, consensual, noncommercial sexual intimacy," the suit
says. But as they turned to go to what Doe believed was the man’s home, Doe was
arrested.
No sexual contact occurred, Adams said, and the case was placed on the inactive docket.
The suit says Doe works in a federal government job that requires security clearance. The
arrest could hurt his chances for promotion, the suit says.
Several attempts have been made to repeal the law in the legislature. One attempt came
in 1987 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of Georgia to declare sodomy a
crime. The ruling paved the way for states to regulate sexual conduct.
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