Lawrence

__Background__
====Police went to a private resident in Texas, responding to a weapons discharge claim, and entered to see two men engaging in consensual homosexual intercourse. A previous standing law in Texas made it a crime to have sexual relations with a partner of the same sex, and therefore, Lawrence and Garner were sentenced to a trial. Both men argued that under the 14th amendment, they should be allowed equal rights as homosexuals, including the right to engage in consensual intercourse. ====

__Question__ ====Does the 14th amendment protect the rights of an action that was previously considered unlawful such as homosexual intercourse if the same act for a heterosexual couple is legally allowed? ====

__Court Ruling__ ==== The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lawrence and Garner. They stated that under the due-process clause, “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government." This ruling as well overturned the similar previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick ====

James Burkhardt Biemiller

 **Lawrence v. Texas (2003)** __//John Geddes Lawrence was arrested and fined under the Texas sodomy laws that prohibited homosexual intercourse. He appealed his decision through the Texas appeals system unsuccessfully. His case reached the Supreme Court, which overruled the Texas sodomy laws and deemed all national sodomy laws unconstitutional based on the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, claiming that they discriminated against a minority. //__ __//Do laws restricting private behavior discriminate against certain minorities in violation of the 14th Amendment? //__