News Release

June 26, 2003

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Cato Legal Expert: Supreme Court Anti-Sodomy Decision Is "Victory for the Pursuit of Happiness"
Majority opinion cites Cato Institute's amicus brief

WASHINGTON--In a 6-3 decision delivered today, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting consensual sex between partners of the same sex. The Cato Institute filed an amicus brief in January in support of the plaintiffs, arguing that the Texas anti-sodomy law violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The Court today cited Cato's brief. Cato’s Roger Pilon, Robert Levy, and James Swanson, are available for media interviews on this landmark ruling.

Pilon, vice president for legal affairs and director of Cato’s Center for Constitutional Studies, released a statement after the ruling:

“I’m delighted that the Supreme Court did today what it should do in all cases – stand for liberty, against majoritarian tyranny. Today’s decision is not a victory for alternative lifestyles alone. Because it has far-reaching implications, it is a victory for liberty itself and hence for everyone, gay and straight alike.

“The state of Texas argued that its inherent police power authorized it to police morals. But the state has no such authority. State police power is meant to secure rights. Plaintiffs Lawrence and Garner were violating no one’s rights. What they were doing was no more the business of the state than it was of any neighbor.

“Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment recognizes rights against such state actions. In reaching that conclusion today, the Court may have taken the first step toward a Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence that is rooted at last in the amendment’s first principles.

“Taking the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench, Justice Scalia claimed that ‘the Court has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda,’ adding that it has ‘taken sides in the culture war.’ That misses the point. The issue here is not the ‘homosexual agenda.’ It’s the Constitution. Ours is a Constitution of liberty. It restrains government. As with flag-burning and much else, one can with perfect consistency condemn what a person does yet defend his right to do it. As we prepare to celebrate our independence next week, let us celebrate now this victory for the pursuit of happiness.”

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