Appeals Court Rejects State’s Sodomy Law
Austin American-Statesman,
June 9, 2000
Box 670, Austin, TX 78767
Fax: 512-445-3679
Email: letters@statesman.com
HOUSTON – A Texas court of appeals declared the state’s
anti-sodomy law unconstitutional Thursday, throwing out the criminal case against two
Houston men arrested in 1998 for having sex with each other.
Although the ruling was an important victory for gay rights advocates, it was expected
to be appealed and applies only within the jurisdiction of the 14th District Court of
Appeals, which issued the ruling. The court is based in Houston and covers 14 Southeast
Texas counties.
Texas has outlawed oral and anal intercourse since 1860. But such intercourse was
decriminalized for opposite-sex partners in 1974.
The court ruled in a 2-1 decision that the law is unconstitutional because it treats
same-sex couples differently than it treats heterosexual couples.
"The simple fact is, the same behavior is criminal for some but not for others,
based solely on the sex of the individuals who engage in the behavior," Justice John
S. Anderson wrote in the majority opinion.
Chief Justice Paul Murphy joined him in the decision.
"We hold that (the sodomy law) violates the Texas Equal Rights Amendment’s
guarantee of equality under the law," he wrote.
Justice J. Harvey Hudson disagreed.
"Because I do not believe the people of this state intended to decriminalize
homosexual conduct when they approved the Texas Equal Rights Amendment, I respectfully
dissent," he wrote.
John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner challenged the law after they were arrested Sept.
17, 1998. Their arrests came after Houston police, responding to a false report of
burglary, entered Lawrence’s unlocked apartment and found the men having sex.
Both men were charged with homosexual conduct, which relates to oral and anal sex
between same-sex partners. The crime is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Robert Royce Eubanks, who was Garner’s roommate, was convicted of filing the false
report and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Lawrence and Garner pleaded no contest and then appealed.
"We consider this a tremendous victory for lesbians and gay men throughout
Texas," said Suzanne Goldberg, a staff lawyer with the Lambda Legal Defense and
Education Fund. The gay- and lesbian-rights advocacy group helped defend Lawrence and
Garner.
Lawyers for the state could ask the full 14th Court to reconsider the case, and then
they could go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The issue could not go to the U.S. Supreme Court because the 14th Court considered
issues related only to state law and the Texas Constitution.
The 14th Court’s decision is not the first time the law has been ruled
unconstitutional. In 1993, the Austin-based 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that the
law violated the state right of privacy.
But the Texas Supreme Court reversed that ruling, saying the 3rd Court didn’t have
jurisdiction over the case.
The 14th Court did not address whether the law violated the state right of privacy or
any federally guaranteed rights.
• American-Statesman staff contributed to this report.
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