Sodomy laws are outdated

In 1998, Texas resident John Geddes Lawrence and his companion Tyron Garner were having sex in the privacy of Lawrence's home. During their sexual activity, the police received a call from a next-door neighbor who said there was a man brandishing a gun in Lawrence's house. The police responded to the call and walked in on Lawrence and Garner engaged in sexual activity. \nAccording to the Boston Globe, Texas police usually do not enforce anti-sodomy laws, but this time they decided to fine each man $200. \nToday, the case is appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court and will become an indicator of whether or not the court has changed since it ruled in favor of anti-sodomy laws in 1986. Defense lawyers are optimistic, based on a 1996 ruling in which the justices ruled in favor of gay and lesbian rights.\nToday, 13 states still have sodomy laws -- Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. The first four ban oral or anal sex for same-sex couples, and the other nine ban this type of activity for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.\nCan you imagine if the IU Police Department started charging into dorm rooms and fining people $200 a person for engaging in sexual activity? People would be up in arms. Fortunately, Indiana got rid of its sodomy laws more than 40 years ago.\nSodomy laws were borne out of a time period when American law was based on Judeo-Christian values, not basic human rights. \nThe government should not have the right to tell people, no matter their sexual orientation, how they should be engaging in sexual activity. \nHouston Prosecutor Charles Rosenthal argues the reason the state can uphold these laws is because it has an "interest in protecting marriage and family and promoting the birth of children," according to The New York Times. 2000 census data reveals more than 4 million babies were born in one year. Getting people to have kids doesn't seem to be a national crisis.\nDiscrimination however, is a national crisis. Laws should be upheld in order to keep people from being harmed. The only function of the anti-sodomy law in the Lawrence case seems to be to punish Lawrence and Garner for their sexual orientation.\nAnd if the court decides sodomy laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation have no place in American society, perhaps it will open the door to the discussion of other rights that are denied based on sexual orientation. If gay and lesbian people have the right to have sex, shouldn't they also have the right to get a marriage license? After all, under the Judeo-Christian value system, no one should be having sex unless the person is married.\nAmerica comes out of the closet more and more every day. We have homosexual television and movie stars, politicians, teachers, lawyers, doctors, business people and even soldiers. It should not be a shock to the judicial system that these people are engaging in sexual activity with each other. As such, the sodomy laws that were put in place hundreds of years ago have no place in our society today. \n--Amy Orringer for the Editorial Board