I had no idea what this article was about, so I looked it up.
Bowers v. Hardwick was a 1986 decision of the Supreme Court. The
Bowers decision upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law
that criminalized oral and anal sex in private between consenting
adults. (Not distinguishing between homo- or heterosexual couples.)
Seventeen years later, in 2003, the Supreme Court explicitly overruled
Bowers in the Lawrence v. Texas decision, and held that such laws are
unconstitutional.
It all centers around the 14th amendment. "No state shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
In May 2003 the senator said he did not like homosexual acts (although
he had "nothing against homosexuals") and said if the Lawrence
decision about the right to privacy were extended, then not only
sodomy, but also fornication, adultery, polygamy, group sex,
prostitution, adult brother-sister or parent-child incest, and
(arguably) bestiality are protected as specifications of the
constitutional right of privacy. All of these acts and practices are,
or can be, consensual. If consent provides the standard of inclusion
within the right of privacy, they must all be admitted.
Slippery slope?
G.H.
--- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, Joy McCann
<jmmccann_at_s...> wrote:
> A topic for our times (and, um, places).
>
> --Q.M.
>
> http://www.techcentralstation.com/061703B.html
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Received on 2004-04-10 20:43:54