For those who think sodomy laws never really hurt anyone, here's an example of how the Lawrence ruling is already making a different. As the Washington Post reports, the Supreme Court on Friday vacated the sodomy conviction of a Kansas teenager who received a 17-year sentence for having consensual sex with a younger teenage boy. Matthew R. Limon had just turned 18 when the relationship with a 14-year old took place. Had his partner been a girl, the sentence would have been no longer than 15 months under Kansas law -- which has a "Romeo and Juliet" exception for opposite-sex teens -- instead of the 17 years that Limon received.
Matt Limon has been in jail for two years. The ACLU is now asking the Kansas court simply to order his release and put an end to this miscarriage of justice.
Hypocrisy Alert.
Many conservative officials and groups denounced the Lawrence
ruling as a violation of states' rights. For example, Virginia
Attorney General Jerry Kilgore had
this to say on the overturning of his state's sodomy
law:
"I disagree with the ruling and am always disappointed when a court undermines Virginia's right to pass legislation that reflects the views and values of our citizens."
Right-wing organizations taking the states' rights line include
(and thanks to IGF's Mike Airhart for this list and links): the
American
Family Association, Concerned
Women for America, Exodus
International,
the Family Research
Council, and the Liberty
Counsel.
But many of those who favor the right of states to pass laws
criminalizing same-sex relations are already supporting (or
expected to support) a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution
that would bar all states from recognizing same-sex marriages, or
perhaps even civil unions -- despite the will of a majority of the
state's citizenry and the desire of the states' legislatures. So
much for states' rights when the shoe is on the other foot!
Stephen H. Miller