GLAAD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOAN M. GARRY -- "Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Texas' 'homosexual conduct law' and overturn its 1986 ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick marks a turning point in our civil rights movement and a victory for all Americans. Lambda Legal's historic victory in Lawrence v. Texas establishes as a matter of law that gay and lesbian people have a fundamental right to loving relationships free from the threat of invasive intrusion by the state.

"In his 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick majority opinion, Justice Byron White claimed that, 'No connection between family, marriage, or procreation on the one hand and homosexual activity on the other has been demonstrated...' Over the past 17 years, that claim has gradually collapsed. Through countless individual acts of bravery and decades of evolving cultural visibility and understanding, the connection that seemed so elusive in Bowers has now been unquestionably and irrevocably established. Today's overturning of Bowers completes the demise of White's claim -- a claim that has been used for decades to deny us equality under the law.

"In stating that gay and lesbian people 'are entitled to respect for their private lives,' Justice Kennedy's majority opinion today affirms our dignity and humanity in a way we hope others will follow. Make no mistake: there is much work ahead of us. And our community must continue to change hearts, minds and laws as we continue down the road to equality."

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Includes coverage archive, links to Lambda Legal, GLAAD's Lawrence v. TexasMedia Resource Kit [ more ]