Abstract

Gay Rights

Since William Rehnquist became Chief Justice of the United States, the Supreme Court has decided only three cases dealing with gay rights, and in all of them the Court has been relatively respectful toward those who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Liberals believe that moral judgments should not affect governmental actions, because individuals have certain rights--to equality, to intimate association, to privacy--that are not connected to the substance of their actions. A case in point is Bowers v. Hardwick, decided in 1986, just before Rehnquist became Chief Justice. In Hardwick the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Georgia sodomy statute, which criminalized oral or anal sex engaged in by any two individuals, regardless of the individuals' gender or sexual orientation.