To think that less than 40 years ago the Supreme Court was allowing states to tell people how to get it on–or not–in the bedroom. Since 2003, this country, and the Supreme Court have come a long way.

The Bowers case began in 1982, when Atlanta police officer Keith Torick issued Michael Hardwick a citation for public drinking. Hardwick missed his original court date due to a clerical error, but quickly paid his fine. Officer Torrick, who had gotten a warrant for Hardwick’s arrest, showed up at Hardwick’s house three weeks after the man had paid his fine to serve the invalid warrant and arrest him.

Torrick entered Hardwick’s home and went into his bedroom, where he saw Hardwick and an unnamed man engaging in sexual acts. After Hardwick became angry and threatened to have the officer fired for entering his home without permission, Torrick arrested both men for sodomy. One could only wonder how that conversation went down.

Related: 18 Netflix History Documentaries Streaming Now

Although the case was dropped by District Attorney Lewis Slaton, Hardwick and lawyers filed a case to ask that the sodomy law be declared unconstitutional, as it violated the right to privacy. The case was tossed out, so Hardwick appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed the decision, stating that the sodomy law was unconstitutional. From there, the case was brought to the Supreme Court.

The Court ruled that the Constitution did not protect sodomy, and therefore individual states could make their own laws on the subject, regardless of the privacy argument.

This decision would remain in place until 2003. Responding a weapon disturbance call, Houston authorities entered John Lawrence’s home. Similarly to Hardwick’s case, the police caught him having sex with another man, and they were arrested for violating Texas’s “Homosexual Conduct” law.

The case was brought to the Texas’s Court of Appeals, where they ruled that the law was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment which protects the rights of all citizens.

The case made its way to the Supreme Court where they ruled in favor of Lawrence. After the decision, the Supreme Court overturned its earlier decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, and prohibited the creation of anti-sodomy laws throughout the country.

What differentiated the Lawrence case from Bowers v. Hardwick is the fact that Texas’s law specifically targeted gay men—sodomy between heterosexual couples wasn’t criminalized. Since the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection for all citizens, this would inherently extend to gay men.

5 Fascinating Times Supreme Court Cases Were Overturned

Get historic book deals and news delivered to your inbox

Follow Us

More from

Corporate

© 2021 OPEN ROAD MEDIA