# Supreme Court strikes down gay sex ban **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520 "2003-06-26T14:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/21 "2003-06-26T16:51:40Z")
Thanks, JR8 for the agenda. It seems a little short (except for number 4). I wonder how long the meetings are. Will there be coffee and cake? Bob ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/22 "2003-06-26T16:56:24Z")
Can straights come to this meeting, or do we have to pass some sort of test to prove our worthiness to attend? It sounds a lot more interesting than our Heterosexual Agenda meetings. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/23 "2003-06-26T16:58:24Z")
It’s inconceivable that it took until now for this to happen. This is truely a seminal event in American jurisprudence. Tonight, god willing, I will get a blow job to celebrate. Haj ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/24 "2003-06-26T16:59:26Z")
**urban1z,** you don’t think we’re that classless, do you? We’re breaking out the Chardonnay (or Diet Coke for the Chelsea boys) and the finest Parisian truffles. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/25 "2003-06-26T17:00:36Z")
A question. In his dissent, one justice included masturbation among the things this decision would not allow states to outlaw. Is there really any government entity which currently has laws against masturbation? And if so, just how many of us are offenders? Or did he mean that the decision would make it impossible to outlaw masturbation in the future? Also, bigamy and polygamy same-sex marriage are already regulated under different laws and this decision has nothing to do with it. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/26 "2003-06-26T17:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by urban1z \* > \*\*A question. In his dissent, one justice included masturbation among the things this decision would not allow states to outlaw. > > Is there really any government entity which currently has laws against masturbation? And if so, just how many of us are offenders?\*\* I’d be willing to bet that there’s some state and local laws prohibiting such actions. As for how many of us are violators, I’d have to say probably 99% of us (the other 1% are liars 😉 ). \*\* > [@](#): > > Or did he mean that the decision would make it impossible to outlaw masturbation in the future? \*\* Well, if it throws out existing laws, than odds are any future laws (other than those prohibiting public exposure) will be null and void too. \*\* > [@](#): > > Also, bigamy and polygamy same-sex marriage are already regulated under different laws and this decision has nothing to do with it. > > Bob \*\* Which is a shame, because most of those laws should be thrown out as well, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/27 "2003-06-26T17:25:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by urban1z \* > **Thanks, JR8 for the agenda. It seems a little short (except for number 4). I wonder how long the meetings are. Will there be coffee and cake?** I’d think toaster pastries would be involved somehow but they would first have to come to a consensus as to whose toaster to use. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/28 "2003-06-26T17:43:46Z")
I’m just waiting to see what ol’ Phred is gonna say about this. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/29 "2003-06-26T18:08:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fin\_man \* > \*\*Ok, I’m not a lawyer and I am only skimming the decision but what does a homosexualy sodomy case have to do with abortion? In the decision, the dessenting opinion says when talking about overruling the original law/case - “what a massive disruption of the current social order, therefore, the overruling of Bowers entails. Not so the overruling of Roe, which would simply have restored the regime that existed for centuries before 1973, in which the permissibility of and restrictions upon abortion were determined legislatively State-by-State.” Oh joy oh joy. \*\* I skimmed Scalia’s dissent only. Basically, abortion and homosexual sodomy fall under the same heading of sexual and reproductive privacy… so the two are related. Scalia seems to be saying that the court is too quick to throw legal precedent out the window (i.e., Bowers) and is improperly applying constitutional priciples (e.g., stare decisis, definitions of fundamental rights, and the rational relation scrutiny test) to achieve a poitical end that should be left to the various state legislatures to decide. The result undermines established constitutional principles, and undermining constitutional principles is bad for society. I agree with the result of the majority, but Scalia seems to make some good points about how the wheels of justice ought to turn. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/30 "2003-06-26T18:18:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > **It’s inconceivable that it took until now for this to happen. This is truely a seminal event in American jurisprudence. Tonight, god willing, I will get a blow job to celebrate.** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*One more blow for freedom. \*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/31 "2003-06-26T18:21:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*One more blow for freedom. \*\* This made me laugh. I hope I’m not being whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![herownself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8baadc/32.png) [@herownself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herownself)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/32 "2003-06-26T18:33:44Z")
I’m so happy! Not homosexual, but this was at the top of my agenda! ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/33 "2003-06-26T18:46:16Z")
Mr. Justice Powell, who cast the deciding vote in the Hardwick case, and who later admitted that he had erred, can now rest easy. Sodomy for all! ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/34 "2003-06-26T18:59:31Z")
Yay 14th Ammendment! Terrific too, that three of the worst, right-wing wacko’s (Thomas, Scalia, Rehnquist) to ever occupy the bench were the dissenters. Clarence Thomas even wrote his own dissent. > **[FindLaw Legal Blogs - FindLaw](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/)** > > Get the latest legal news and information, and learn more about laws that impact your everyday life by visiting FindLaw Legal Blogs. Here’s some of the wisdom of “Justice” Scalia (the man who would be Chief) who likes “quoting” “rights”: > [@](#): > > I do not know what “acting in private ” means;;surely > consensual sodomy,like heterosexual intercourse,is rarely > performed on stage.If all the Court means by “acting in > private ” is “on private premises,with the doors closed and > windows covered,” it is entirely unsurprising that evidence > of enforcement would be hard to come by.(Imagine the > circumstances that would enable a search warrant to be > obtained for a residence on the ground that there was > probable cause to believe that consensual sodomy was > then and there occurring.)Surely that lack of evidence > would not sustain the proposition that consensual sodomy > on private premises with the doors closed and windows > covered was regarded as a “fundamental right,”even > though all other consensual sodomy was criminalized. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/35 "2003-06-26T19:01:35Z")
Haj said, “Tonight, god willing, I will get a blow job to celebrate.” If he’s not willing, what do you do to get him in the mood? 😛 _(If there’s a hell, I’m in the first car on the first train going there.)_ ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/36 "2003-06-26T19:06:15Z")
This is a very very good thing. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/37 "2003-06-26T19:18:43Z")
Good news. Bartender! Sodomy for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/38 "2003-06-26T19:38:56Z")
Just got done reading the dissents. The majority opinion and O’Connor’s concurring opinion literally brought tears of joy to my eyes (and how I wish O’Connor’s opinion were the majority). Scalia’s brought waves of revulsion. Does this man ever do anything from the bench but succor the majority when he’s in it and hector the majority when he dissents? The central point of the decision is simple. Bowers was decided on faulty premises. The Court today recognized those premises as faulty, and being faulty, overturned the ruling. Scalia’s desperate thirst to overturn Roe v Wade is even more starkly revealed as blatant social engineering, since he only seems to object to overturning precedents that he agrees with. Thomas’ dissent was a joke. I wonder if he thinks there’s a right to privacy regarding inquiries into one’s video rental habits because, oh, didn’t he call that part of the “high tech lynching” during his confirmation hearings? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/39 "2003-06-26T19:48:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Man With The Golden Gun \* > \*\*I’m just waiting to see what ol’ Phred is gonna say about this. \*\* Maybe we’ll get lucky and his head will simply explode. This is such great news. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520/40 "2003-06-26T19:57:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*Haj said, “Tonight, god willing, I will get a blow job to celebrate.” > > If he’s not willing, what do you do to get him in the mood? 😛 > > _(If there’s a hell, I’m in the first car on the first train going there.)_ \*\* I do not fear God. My wife on the other hand… Haj [sub]No, my wife does not read the boards[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-strikes-down-gay-sex-ban/184520.md?page=3)