Bowers v. Hardwick

A Quick Summary of the Case

In 1982, Michael Hardwick was given a ticket for drinking beer outside a gay bar in Atlanta, Georgia. Although Michael paid the fine, there was a mix up and a warrant was issued for his arrest. When the police entered his home, Michael was found having oral sex with another man. Both men were arrested for sodomy, handcuffed, and taken jail. The law in question carried a possible penalty of twenty years in prison. Although the criminal case was dropped, Michael pursued challenge to the law based on the right to privacy under the federal constitution.

In 1986, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Georgia sodomy law, as it applied to homosexuals, was constitutional. The Court said that the state had the right to enforce standards of conduct on its citizens. The right to privacy in one's own bedroom was not extended to same-sex couples.

Ramifications of Bowers v. Hardwick

Can you be arrested for making love in your own bedroom? The answer depends on what you are doing, with whom you are doing it, and where your bedroom is. According to reports from the ACLU, twenty states and Puerto Rico have laws on the books that make sodomy* illegal. Of those twenty, six states outlaw sex acts only between same-sex couples. The rest target heterosexual sodomy as well. The possible penalties for violating these laws range from fines of $200 to life imprisonment. All of this was made possible by your folks at the United States Supreme Court.

In the case of Bowers v. Hardwick, the Supreme Court said that gay men and lesbians were not entitled to the same privacy given to married couples. This case was decided in 1986 and is still the law of the land. The changes in sodomy laws that have occurred have been at the state level.

What does this mean to the average lesbian or gay man? Well, in states where sodomy laws are still on the books, it is more likely that gay people will be viewed as criminals and perverts. This has had (and continues to have) a devasting impact on those who have lost their jobs or are facing child custody battles. Even the most basic human need of housing is sometimes unavailable to us. Homophobics in both the private and the public arenas find further justification for their intolerance against gay men and lesbians when the state, itself, actively discriminates us.

The good news is that things are better than they used to be. More and more states are repealing their sodomy laws. Some states have also enacted laws protecting gays in the work place. A handful of states are actually considering giving us the same rights as heterosexuals enjoy. Maybe someday, gay people will also be included in "We the People...."


* Sodomy here is generally defined as sexual contact between the sexual organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another.

Links to More Information

ACLU

Oyez oyez oyez: A US Supreme Court Database

Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News

Sodomy Laws

Read The Supreme Court's Opinion For Yourself

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