Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Two men were arrested in Texas for engaging in consensual same-sex intimacy under a state sodomy law. The Supreme Court struck down the law, holding that it violated the liberty and privacy rights protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court explicitly overturned Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).

3) Why It Mattered
This case decriminalized same-sex intimacy nationwide and became a cornerstone for later LGBTQ rights cases, including Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

4) What It Provided or Took Away

• Provided: Constitutional protection for private, consensual adult relationships.
• Took Away: States’ ability to criminalize same-sex intimacy.

5) Overreach or Proper Role?
The Court corrected its earlier mistake in Bowers and reinforced constitutional liberty. Critics saw it as activism, but it aligned with evolving principles of privacy and equality.

6) Plain-English Impact Today
No state can make consensual sexual relationships between adults a crime. This decision was the legal foundation for broader LGBTQ rights.

• Privacy
• Due Process
• 14th Amendment
• LGBTQ Rights
• Individual Rights