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Article
Introducing Lawrence v. Texas: Some Background and a Glimpse of the Future
Cardozo Women's Law Journal
  • Edward Stein, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Publication Date
1-1-2004
Abstract

The Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas broke new ground for the legal position of lesbians, gay men and other sexual minorities in the United States. This article reviews the legal background against which Lawrence was decided (focusing on privacy and equal protection arguments). The article then explores the likely implications of this decision, specifically for the recognition of same-sex marriage and the constitutionality of laws that make other sex acts criminal. The article suggests that the most interesting questions after Lawrence concern whether the logic of Justice O'Connor's concurrence (that focused on the equal protection argument) will be accepted in the future.

Publisher
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Keywords
  • LGBTQ,
  • LGBTQ rights,
  • gay,
  • lesbian,
  • equal protection,
  • same-sex marriage
Disciplines
Citation Information
Edward Stein. "Introducing Lawrence v. Texas: Some Background and a Glimpse of the Future" Cardozo Women's Law Journal Vol. 10 (2004) p. 263
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/edward-stein/1/