Press Release

Humanists Applaud Court Decision in Sodomy Case

(Washington, DC, June 26, 2003) Humanists are heartened by today’s Supreme Court ruling in this term’s most significant gay rights case. “With this decision, an intolerant fundamentalist norm has been relegated to the past where it belongs” said American Humanist Association executive director Tony Hileman.

The case stemmed from the arrest and conviction of John Lawrence and Tyron Garner. Harris County police stormed Lawrence’s house in September 1998 because of a false tip but instead found Garner and Lawrence having sex. Consensual sex between members of the same gender was illegal under the state’s Homosexual Conduct Law. Texas is one of four remaining states that specifically penalize sodomy between gays. Lawrence and Garner filed suit, arguing that the law violated their right to privacy and equal treatment before the law, but a state appeals court upheld the conviction. However, today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Today’s decision overturns another decision by the Supreme Court in 1986, which had ruled that individuals were not within their constitutional rights to engage in homosexual sodomy because it is “immoral.”

Hileman added, “The very idea of restricting individuals’ consensual sexual practice goes squarely against reason and can only exist buttressed by extremist religion. Having seen a cultural shift towards a more humanistic acceptance of gays and lesbians, it would have been unthinkable for the Court to uphold this law. Such a law conjures humanity’s worst memories—those of bigotry and mindless discrimination born of intolerance.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision recognizes that society has made great strides beyond the harmful fundamentalist morality that often afflicts this country. Humanists have pushed for decades for progressive changes such as this one and it is gratifying to see society move toward a more Humanist outlook, which recognizes that gays and lesbians are people worthy of the respect and dignity, accorded any other person.”

The American Humanist Association is the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity.

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