Lawrence v. Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lawrence v. Texas - Essay Example Many other reasons were given for declaring the statute illegal, but the second main issue for doing so was the fact that should the â€Å"deviant sex† be taking place between two consenting adults, and not involving minor children, public conduct, and/or prostitution, then it was not for the Court to â€Å"define the meaning of the relationship or to set its boundaries absent injury to a person or abuse of an institution the law protects† (6). The majority went on to say that, for the most part, adults could be trusted to enter into relationships of their own free will, as well as to consent to the type of sexual activity that would take place in them. Though this was a decidedly main issue, it can be said that it goes back to the first main issue, which was that adults, as adults, had a right to do what they wanted in their own homes, free from fear of punishment.  Central to the majority opinion was a previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick, decided in the opposite manne r of Lawrence v. Texas. In Bowers v. Hardwick, the laws were upheld, and sodomy was declared to be an illegal act. The majority of Lawrence v. Texas declared that the reasoning behind the decision made to be flawed, as the Court did not â€Å"appreciate the extent of the liberty at stake† (6). What the Court failed to consider was that, again, the case was about consensual acts private to a relationship, again taking place in the privacy of a home, and not in public view. They also, again, did not involve minors. Therefore, according to the majority opinion.... Though this was a decidedly main issue, it can be said that it goes back to the first main issue, which was that adults, as adults, had a right to do what they wanted in their own homes, free from fear of punishment. Central to the majority opinion was a previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick, decided in the opposite manner of Lawrence v. Texas. In Bowers v. Hardwick, the laws were upheld, and sodomy was declared to be an illegal act. The majority of Lawrence v. Texas declared that the reasoning behind the decision made to be flawed, as the Court did not â€Å"appreciate the extent of the liberty at stake† (6). What the Court failed to consider was that, again, the case was about consensual acts private to a relationship, again taking place in the privacy of a home, and not in public view. They also, again, did not involve minors. Therefore, according to the majority opinion, Bowers v. Hardwick should not have been allowed to uphold the laws in the first place, as individual libert ies were being infringed upon. From the remarks made, it can be concluded that Lawrence v. Texas was simply correcting a wrong, and doing what Bowers v. Hardwick should have done in the first place, which was to declare sodomy the natural act of a relationship, and not something dirty and illegal. There were those on the Supreme Court that disagreed with the majority opinion, chief among them Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas. Their reasoning was separately made in their dissents, with Justice Scalia having the longer of the two. Justice Thomas kept it brief, mainly stating that while he concurred with the fact that the law was â€Å"uncommonly silly† as it was