Supreme Court strikes down Texas sodomy law
Thursday, June 26, 2003

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court struck down a Texas ban on gay sex Thursday, ruling that the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy.

The justices voted 6-3 in striking down the Texas law, saying it violated due process guarantees.

"The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court's majority. "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime."

Gay rights advocates immediately hailed the decision, while religious conservatives condemned it.

"It's an historic day for gay Americans," said Ruth Harlow of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay-rights group representing the two Texas men. "I think Americans will be celebratory about this decision."

The ruling reverses a 1986 high court ruling upholding state anti-sodomy laws. Kennedy wrote that homosexuals have "the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government."

The case stemmed from the 1998 arrest of a gay Houston couple under a 28-year-old Texas law making it a crime to engage in same-sex intercourse. A Texas state appeals court found the law "advances a legitimate state interest, namely, preserving public morals."

Gay rights advocates argued the law legitimized discrimination against homosexuals in everyday life.

"This is a very strong ruling that we all, as individuals -- whether gay or straight -- have the liberty to choose who we'll love and how we'll do that in the privacy of our own homes," Harlow said.

In 1986, the Supreme Court upheld the prosecution of two gay men under a Georgia anti-sodomy law in a 5-4 decision that focused on the right to privacy. In Thursday's ruling, Kennedy said that decision "was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today."

"The court is just catching up with American society, which has already recognized gay people's equal liberty, equal humanity," Harlow said. "And the court issued a very powerful decision itself recognizing that humanity."

But the ruling immediately drew fire from a spokesman for a religious conservative group, the National Clergy Council.

"The court has said today that morality -- matters of right and wrong behavior -- do not matter in the law," said the Rev. Rob Shenck, one of the group's founders. "That is an undermining of our concept of justice in this country."


Rev. Rob Shenck: Ruling is "an undermining of our concept of justice."
The Texas case already has entered the national political debate, stirred by May comments from Sen. Rick Santorum, a member of the Senate's Republican leadership.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Santorum said if the justices overturned the Texas law, "then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything."

Santorum defended his remarks, but some fellow Republicans distanced themselves from them.

The majority opinion appears to cover similar laws in 12 other states and reverses a 1986 high court ruling upholding sodomy laws. Kennedy wrote that homosexuals have "the full right to engage in private conduct without government intervention."

Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer agreed with Kennedy in full. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor agreed with the outcome of the case but not all of Kennedy's rationale.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

"The court has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda," Scalia wrote for the three, according to the AP. He took the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench.

"The court has taken sides in the culture war," Scalia said, adding that he has "nothing against homosexuals."

The case is Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, case no. 02-0102).

2 Months

2 months minus 1 day is how long I have been dieting and exercising. I had my 'official' weigh-in today. I have lost exactly 15 lbs. I am quite pleased by that. Quite pleased indeed.

The House

I stopped by yesterday. We have a hardwood floor in the kitchen! Yay! It is all coming together. Electrical outlets were being placed into the holes in the walls. Light Switches are being put in. They have begun cleaning the mess that is the basement. Progress is again resuming!

Appliances

Well, we did it...finally! We bought/ordered appliances for the new house last night. After quite the ordeal at ABC Warehouse, and a follow-up at Best Buy, (Thank you Patrick for not killing me...), we went to Big George's Appliance Mart on the West Side of Ann Arbor. We found a wonderfully helpful saleswoman, who was incredibly knowledgable about refridgerators, who helped us find something and then got us a builder's discount on it, as things were rather expensive, since we needed a counter-depth fridge. She was fantastic. Even with her commission, she got everything for us cheaper than Best Buy or ABC Warehouse. Yay for her. Let us know if you are in the market for appliances, and we can give you her card. I would like to send business to her, not only as a thank you for her incredible service, but also, because I know she worked hard for us, and would for our friends. So, check the appliances off the list.

Now we must turn our attention to landscaping issues. I need to call Kevin, Corey, and Lisamarie and invite them out to dinner, and a viewing of the house/yard. Kevin offered to help us lay things out and help pick plants. We have some old dishes for Lisamarie if she wants them. They were my grandmother's, but I think they are just her style. And Corey, well Corey is just plain fabulous and fun, so we need to have the Trio out.

Almost forgot. The movers have been hired for Saturday the 19th of July. Woo-Hoo. If anyone wants to help move small boxes and stuff, and maybe unpack some stuff, let us know.

jvankirk Magic Number 18 Job Computer Nerd Personality Unfulfilled Dreamer Temperament Check My Pulse Sexual Gay Likely To Win Time Off For Good Behaviour Me - In A Word Whirlwind Colour Brought to you by MemeJack

jarrod Magic Number 12 Job Singer Personality Paranoid And With Good Reason Temperament Unflappable Sexual If I Have To Likely To Win The World Cup Me - In A Word Evil Colour Brought to you by MemeJack

Presidential Candidate Compatability

Your Results:

1. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH - Democrat (100%)
2. Green Party Candidate (87%)
3. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (81%)
4. Leahy, Patrick Senator, Vermont - Democrat (77%)
5. Jackson, Cong. Jesse Jr., IL - Democrat (76%)
6. Gephardt, Cong. Dick, MO - Democrat (76%)
7. Lieberman Senator Joe CT - Democrat (71%)
8. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (70%)
9. Feingold, Senator Russ, WI - Democrat (68%)
10. Biden, Senator Joe, DE - Democrat (66%)
11. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (66%)
12. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol IL - Democrat (59%)
13. Graham, Senator Bob, FL - Democrat (58%)
14. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (56%)
15. Kaptur, Cong. Marcy, OH - Democrat (56%)
16. Socialist Candidate (51%)
17. Feinstein, Senator Dianne, CA - Democrat (50%)
18. Bradley, Former Senator Bill NJ - Democrat (36%)
19. Libertarian Candidate (30%)
20. Hagelin, John - Natural Law (15%)
21. McCain, Senator John, AZ- Republican (14%)
22. Bush, George W. - US President (12%)
23. Buchanan, Patrick J. – Reform/Republican (8%)
24. Vilsack, Governor. Tom IA - Democrat (1%)
25. Phillips, Howard - Constitution (0%)
26. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (-9%)
27. Clark, Retired Army General Wesley K "Wes" Arkansas - Democrat (-9%)

jvankirk
n. someone who has a different tattoo every week.
"Frank, that jvankirk is so fast-moving!"

Jarrod
adj. of a cheap nature.
"Dad, I'm not going to kill that video - it's Jarrod!"

[I'm a bit insulted...jv]

Today

Patrick's Blog has good news on it today. Gay Marriage has been legalized in Ontario. At least their court system has said it was okay. While this is good news, it will certainly open a can of worms for the U.S. Court system. A few years ago, the federal government passed a law known as DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). DOMA forbid the U.S. Government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Now, the government also has several treaties which recognize family laws in other countries such as Canada, so it will be an interesting set of laws to watch. So, maybe we will get true marriage rights in the U.S. someday.

We Interrupt This Program for a Breaking News Story...

The builder just called. We are scheduling our final walkthrough the week of July 7th, and the closing on the week of July 14th. We should be in the house by the 20th of July. WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like a tentative move date of July 19th. Please mark your calendars if you are available to assist! We will be hiring movers, but would like help with the small boxes and some unpacking!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

My Inner Geek

36.88363% - Major Geek

All the Rage

Your Brain Usage Profile
Auditory : 40%
Visual : 60%
Left : 47%
Right : 52%

Jarrod, you exhibit an even balance between left- and right- hemisphere dominance and a slight preference for visual over auditory processing. With a score this balanced, it is likely that you would have slightly different results each time you complete this self-assessment quiz.

You are a well-rounded person, distinctly individualistic and artistic, an active and multidimensional learner. At the same time, you are logical and disciplined, can operate well within an organization, and are sensitive towards others without losing objectivity. You are organized and goal-directed. Although a "thinking" individual, you "take in" entire situations readily and can act on intuition.

You sometimes tend to vacillate in your learning styles. Learning might take you longer than someone of equal intellect, but you will tend to be more thorough and retain the material longer than those other individuals. You will alternate between logic and impulse. This vacillation will not normally be intentional or deliberate, so you may experience anxiety in situations where you are not certain which aspect of yourself will be called on.

With a slight preference for visual processing, you tend to be encompassing in your perceptions, process along multidimensional paths and be active in your attacking of situations or learning.

Overall, you should feel content with your life and yourself. You are, perhaps, a little too critical of yourself -- and of others -- while maintaining an "openness" which tempers that tendency. Indecisiveness is a problem and your creativity may not be in keeping with your potential. Being a pragmatist, you downplay this aspect of yourself and focus on the more immediate, obvious and the more functional.

I'm Home

Yep, I am back finally. Amen! So, the vacation part of the long week away was good, until my brother and the nephews arrived. They were a bit loud for my taste. Constantly screaming and crying over something. I tried to have fun with them and play, but I found them getting on my nerves more each day. After the cabin part of the week, I went down to my grandparents with Mom, and we did research on the family tree at a not so distant courthouse in Pittsburgh. It was interesting, but nothing especially earth-shattering as far as new information. I also met with my great-aunt who said she had a 'few' old family pictures. It turned out to be a 'few hundred'. So, I scanned about 75, and after much persuading, brought about 20 home to be copied. I found pictures of my great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents. So, that was kind of exciting. I got home Friday night, and Saturday morning, we went to Mount Pleasant. We helped Patrick's sister move into her new apartment, and I promptly pulled a muscle across my back. If you have never done this, let me just say, "OUCH!" We stayed the night up there and returned home Sunday, to have dinner with Jack and Kristen. We then watched, "A Room With A View", which was fabulous, and this hunky guy named Rupert Graves was in it. Monday was an errand day, and I caught up on much! I also visited with Matthew for a bit. That brings to me to today!

House

In case you hadn't heard, we got a second offer on the house, at a much higher price. We will know if we can take it tomorrow. Also, the new house now has drywall and siding!