lkk@teddy.UUCP (11/12/85)
This may be of interest to readers of this group:
From THE BOSTON GLOBE (Nov. 5, p. 3):
By Richard Carelli (AP)
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said yesterday it will decide whether
the sexual activities of consenting homosexual adults are
constitutionally protected.
The justices said they will review the appeal by Georgia
prosecutors of a ruling that, if upheld, could undo the sodomy laws in
about half the states. Their ruling is expected by next July.
The court has not issued a detailed ruling on the rights of
homosexuals since 1967, when it said aliens found to be homosexuals
may be deported as people "afflicted with a psychpathic personality."
....
Michael Hardwick, a self-described practicing homosexual, was
arrested by Atlanta police in 1982 on charges of committing the crime
of sodomy with another man in his home.
Hardwick sued Georgia officials in 1983 even though
prosecutors had decided not to seek an indictment against him. His
suit sought to have the sodomy law declared unconstitutional.
...
US District Judge Robert H. Hall threw out Hardwick's suit,
ruling that the constitutional claims had been rejected by the Supreme
Court wehn it upheld Virginia's sodomy law in 1976.
In that ruling, the justices affirmed a lower court's
decision that the state sodomy law was constitutional but issued no
written explanation of the affirmance.
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Hardwick's
lawsuit by a 2-1 vote last May 21.
The Atlanta-based appeals court said the Georgia law
"infringes upon the fundamental constitutional [privacy] rights of
Michael Hardwick," and said the law may be valid only if state
officials show a "compelling interest" in restricting such rights."
....
"The benefits of marriage can inure to individuals outside the
traditional marriage relationship," the appeals court said in sending
the case back to Judge Hall. "For some, the sexual activity in
question here serves the same purpose as the intimacy of marriage."
--
Sport Death, (USENET) ...{decvax | ihnp4!mit-eddie}!genrad!panda!lkk
Larry Kolodney (INTERNET) lkk@mit-mc.arpa
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Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
- Helen Keller