Gay Discrimination Essay

Submitted By MirandaMichele
Words: 2102
Pages: 9
Open Document
Miranda
Government Essay

Lawrence vs the State of Texas

The right to privacy, should be a give in, right? Wrong. Gay rights has been an ongoing struggle for decades. In this Supreme Court case Lawrence vs the State of Texas, John Geddes Lawrence and his partner Tyron Garner, wanted their right to engage in sexual activity. But engaging in sex landed them in jail after being caught together and charged for the so called, disgusting act.

The police that arrested them had no right to intrude on their inside home life, but as is, not a lot of other people seem to agree. Now, “in Houston, Texas, officers of the Harris County Police Department were dispatched to a private residence in response to a reported weapons disturbance. They entered an apartment where one of the petitioners, John Geddes Lawrence, resided. The right of the police to enter does not seem to have been questioned. The officers observed Lawrence and another man, Tyron Garner, engaging in a sexual act. The two petitioners were arrested, held in custody overnight, and charged and convicted before a Justice of the Peace. The complaints described their crime as "deviate sexual intercourse, namely anal sex, with a member of the same sex (man)." App. to Pet. for Cert. 127a, 139a. The applicable state law is Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.06(a) (2003). It provides: "A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex." The statute defines "[d]deviate sexual intercourse" as follows:
"(A) any contact between any part of the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person; or
"(B) the penetration of the genitals or the anus of another person with an object." § 21.01(1).”
So in the Texas State Penal Code, Lawrence and Garner having intercourse is only a violation because it was same sex intercourse as opposed to different sex intercourse. Were in the state of Texas, it is illegal for gay people to be with each other. Under the "Homosexual Conduct" law—which criminalizes sexual intimacy by same-sex couples, but not identical behavior by different-sex couples—violate the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws.
“The petitioners exercised their right to a trial de novo in Harris County Criminal Court. They challenged the statute as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and of a like provision of the Texas Constitution. ex. Const., Art. 1, § 3a. Those contentions were rejected. The petitioners, having entered a plea of nolo contendere, were each fined $200 and assessed court costs of $141.25. App. to Pet. for Cert. 107a-110a.”
“The Court of Appeals for the Texas Fourteenth District considered the petitioners' federal constitutional arguments under both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. After hearing the case en banc the court, in a divided opinion, rejected the constitutional arguments and affirmed the convictions.” So far, the court has refereed back to a previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U. S. 186 (1986) , and went over their overall decision of that case, to help build the foundation in Lawrence vs Texas due to the fact that in both these cases, there are very similar issues. The real question would be, if they are both adults, it was done in private, and it was consensual, why get in trouble for it? Gay people have every right to engage in sexual conduct as we do. And being protected under the 14th Amendment (giving them their right to privacy) but contradicting the Texas Penal Code, obviously this was a hard call to make.
“ Laws prohibiting sodomy do not seem to have been enforced against consenting adults acting in private. A substantial number of sodomy prosecutions and convictions for which there are surviving records were for predatory acts against those who could not or did not consent, as in the case of a minor or the victim of an assault. As to these, one purpose for the
Show More

Related Documents: Gay Discrimination Essay

Being Gay: Discrimination In The SAGA Community

It’s a common notion in religion that being gay is a choice. Many scientists have looked for a ‘gay gene’. Though they found a close match, they need gene that would reliably make someone gay. Through psychological studies the perspective has changed. Though a gene was found that had higher prevalence in gay men, scientists still do more studies. Being gay is not a choice. The discrimination you face in the SAGA community is not one that would be chosen. There is evidence that a part of the brain…

Words 575 - Pages 3

Discrimination of Gays in the Workplace Essay examples

from those in the dominant group. This is particularly true when the lifestyle or sexuality of the non-dominant group are contradictory to the religious convictions of the dominant group. This is ripe soul upon which discrimination can form against homosexuals. This type of discrimination has often been overlooked by companies and organizations and continues to be a…

Words 322 - Pages 2

Thesis Statement And Outline For Homosexuality And Discrimination Towards The Gay Community

University of Phoenix Material Thesis Statement and Outline Thesis statement: Most people think that discrimination towards the gay community has stopped and heterosexuals and homosexuals are treated equally. I believe we still have a long way to go before this can happen. Introduction: Homosexuality and discrimination I. First main point: Public Affection A. Supporting details 1. Heterosexuals are not looked at weirdly when showing public affection 2. Public affection like kissing is ok…

Words 352 - Pages 2

Discrimination: How Can I Heal If I Am Identified As A Gay And Lesbian Youth

Discrimination: How can I heal if I am identified as a Gay or Lesbian Youth? Angela M. Tindall Uo9a1-Prevention Program Proposal SHB-8315 December 14, 2014 Dr. Brenda Lohman Capella University Table of Contents I. Problem Statement II. Target Population III. Community Needs IV. Risk Factors A. Protective Factors V. Desired Results A. Outputs B. Outcomes C. Impacts VI. Influential Factors VII. Strategies VIII. Assumptions IX. Statement of Need X. Literature Review XI. Logic Model…

Words 5758 - Pages 24

Gay Rights Research Paper

Gay Rights The Declaration of Independence says that we hold these facts to be ourselves, that everyone is equal, and that they are gifted by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. These words were written over two-hundred years ago and even back then, the people believed in the significance of equality. All people are created equal, and therefore there should not be any discrimination. History shows the discrimination of African-Americans and how our fellow countries have progressed regarding…

Words 436 - Pages 2

Prejudices Against LGTBs Essay

statement in terms relating to racism, however, it applies to discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Most people today are not accepting of LGBTs, otherwise known as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders. They are constantly treated unfairly and discriminated against because of who they are. Examples of these discriminations include the fact that LGBT children that are in foster homes are rarely adopted, gay men cannot donate blood, and LGBTs were not allowed in the…

Words 1296 - Pages 6

The Pros And Cons Of Discrimination

overcomed several obstacles in discrimination. In todas soceity teens as well as adults are being discriminated to people sexual orientation. (Wolfe 1) Homosexuals suffer with homophobics, costumers feeling uncomfortable and low self esteem. (1) November 7th became a historic day when the House Of Representative passed a bill that protects lesbians, gay mens and bisexuals from being discriminated in the work place. (1) Due to recent studies sixteen percent of gays and lesbians have been denied…

Words 803 - Pages 4

Gay Rights Essay

Gay Rights By: Torian Portier Thesis statement: Gay rights is even is an even more controversial topic than women’s rights and African American rights. Works Cited: 1) http://www.datehookup.com/content-the-argument-for-and-against-gay-marriage.htm 2) http://www.religioustolerance.org/denomchg2.htm 3) http://www.enderminh.com/minh/civilrights.aspx 4) https://rcclibrary.wikispaces.com/GayRights 5) http://topics.nytimes.com/top/refere…

Words 2984 - Pages 12

The Stonewall Riots

Gay civil rights weren’t something that many governments focused on, until it came to the Stonewall riots that occurred in the United States in 1969. They happened after the police forced entry into a gay bar by the name of Stonewall. After this, many homosexuals protested the unfair persecution that they had to endure by the police. These riots’ noise rang around the world which influenced many countries to take action in the decriminalization of homosexuality and gay marriage. Stonewall riots brought…

Words 392 - Pages 2

The Gay And Lesbian Movement

Joey Bragg Prof. Grattan English 101 11/18/13 The Gay and Lesbian Movement Ever since the country’s birth, the people of The United States has always had a somewhat closed mind towards people that did not fit into their “social norm”. The African-American people were under control of the rich white landowners from the Revolutionary time all the way until the country’s civil war. Even after they were all free men, the black population still had to wait another five years to be able to vote…

Words 795 - Pages 4