Houston Men Arrested Under Texas Sodomy Law
GLAADLINES
For Immediate Release, November 9, 1998
Contact: Liz Tracey, Publications Manager
(212) 807-1700
tracey@glaad.org
Two men in Houston, Texas were arrested under that state's 119-year-old sodomy law,
when they were witnessed by police having consensual sex in a private apartment where one
of the men lived. The police were called to the apartment by a complainant who directed
them to the apartment stating that a robbery was taking place; the complainant was
subsequently charged with filing a false report. The two men were held in jail for several
hours, and then released on $200 bail. They face arraignment on November 20, which could
result in a maximum $500 fine. While challenges to the Texas sodomy law, which singles out
same-sex acts for prosecution, have been unsuccessful, some have observed that this most
recent case may be a significant challenge to the law's constitutionality. Clarence Bagby,
president of the Houston Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus stated, "We certainly
hope to move this forward, and we’d love to see it move all the way up the ladder and
be declared unconstitutional." In 1997, the state sodomy law was used by a Texas
child protection worker to remove a three-month-old child from a foster home provided by
two lesbians, saying "Homosexuality is against the law and CPS (Child Protective
Services) were knowingly condoning it."
For more information, contact Clarence Bagby
Houston Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus at (713) 521.1000.
[Home] [News] [Texas]
