Number: RL31681
Title: Homosexuality and the Constitution: A Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Lawrence v. Texas
Authors: Jody Feder, American Law Division 
Abstract: In a sweeping decision issued on June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas state statute that made it a crime for homosexuals to engage in certain private sex acts. Specifically, the Court's ruling in Lawrence v. Texas held that the due process privacy guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment extends to protect consensual gay sex. Although the Court also considered whether the Texas state statute violated the constitutional right to equal protection, the Court ultimately based its ruling on broader privacy grounds. In addition, the Court also overturned its 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, a controversial case in which the Court ruled that there was no constitutional right to privacy that protects homosexual sodomy. This report provides an overview of the Supreme Court's opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, coupled with a discussion of its implications for future cases involving gay rights in general and same-sex marriage in particular. For a more detailed discussion of current developments regarding gay marriage, see CRS Report RL31994, Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues, by Alison M. Smith.
Pages: 10
Date: May 26, 2005