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{{caselaw|Lawrence v. Texas|539 U.S. 558|2003}}

{{caselaw|Lawrence v. Texas|539 U.S. 558|2003}}

'''''Lawrence v. Texas''''' was a landmark Supreme Court case where the Court held, by a vote of 6-3, that a Texas anti-sodomy law, which criminalized homosexual behavior, was unconstitutional.  Although the court had addressed the same issue in 1986 (Bowers v. Hardwick where it upheld a similar Georgia statute by ruling there was no constitutional "right to privacy") The majority held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.  Lawrence invalidated similar laws throughout the United States criminalizing homosexual activity between consenting adults acting in private.  

'''''Lawrence v. Texas''''' was a [[Landmark Supreme Court Cases|landmark]] Supreme Court case where the Court held, by a vote of 6-3, that a Texas anti-sodomy law, which criminalized homosexual behavior, was unconstitutional.  Although the court had addressed the same issue in 1986 (Bowers v. Hardwick where it upheld a similar Georgia statute by ruling there was no constitutional "right to privacy") The majority held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.  Lawrence invalidated similar laws throughout the United States criminalizing homosexual activity between consenting adults acting in private.  

The case attracted much public attention, and the outcome became cause for celebration within the homosexual rights movement.  Conversely, Lawrence v. Texas is consistently derided by conservatives as an extreme example of judicial activism.

The case attracted much public attention, and the outcome became cause for celebration within the homosexual rights movement.  Conversely, Lawrence v. Texas is consistently derided by conservatives as an extreme example of judicial activism.