Lawrence v. Texas, a 2003 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, held that a state cannot outlaw private sexual conduct between consenting adults of the same sex. The decision expanded the reach of privacy rights and invalidated state laws against homosexual behavior. The ruling was considered a victory for the gay rights movement in the United States. The movement later came to be called the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights movement.
In 1998, Houston police were called to investigate a reported “weapons disturbance” at a private residence. Upon entering the home, the police found two men, John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner, engaged in a sexual act. The men were arrested, and later convicted, under a Texas law that made it illegal for two people of the same sex to engage in “deviate sexual intercourse.” Lawrence and Garner challenged the convictions, claiming that the Texas law violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The Supreme Court did not rule on the equal protection claim. However, the court decided that the due process clause recognizes a “liberty” of sexual relations between consenting individuals. The convictions were therefore overturned, and the Texas law was struck down. Lawrence v. Texas overruled the decision of Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), which held that states could enact laws forbidding private homosexual behavior.
