It was nice to see the New York Times, which rarely recognizes
libertarians as distinct from both conservatives and liberals, run
Linda Greenhouse's article "Libertarians
Join Liberals in Opposing Sodomy Law." Greenhouse
observes:
Although libertarian-sounding arguments were presented to the court as part of the overall debate over the right to privacy in the Bowers v. Hardwick case [when the Court last upheld sodomy laws], they were not the solitary focus of any of the presentations then. The Institute for Justice had not yet been established, and the Cato Institute, which dates to 1977, had not begun to file legal briefs. Whether the arguments will attract a conservative libertarian-leaning justice like Clarence Thomas, who was not on the court in 1986, remains to be seen.
Greenhouse also makes clear how opposition to gay marriage is driving conservatives to support government intrusion into the privacy of gay people's bedrooms.