A moment of remembrance for John Lawrence, died 11/20/11

[MsGuy]

After his home was invaded by police (resulting in his prosecution for sodomy), Mr. Lawrence brought and won the landmark case Lawrence v. Texas. In the end the Supreme Court declared that it was unconstitutional to single out gays and label their behavior criminal. All the equal protection cases you read about involving equal protection for gays tract right back to this one case. Rather like the drag queens and hustlers of Stonewall, Lawrence wasn't political; he was motivated by a consuming sense of the injustice of his treatment by the police.

 

We post memorials here to singers, Hollywood types and all manner of assorted celebrities. Let's take a moment to remember one of our own who had the gumption and sheer cussedness to do something important for us all.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/us/john-lawrence-plaintiff-in-lawrence-v-texas-dies-at-68.html

[leigh.bess.toad]

Thank you Ms. Guy for posting this. For those of us who are newly out and will never have to face the insults to our liberties, we owe Mr. Lawrence a tremendous debt of gratitude.

 

RIP Mr. Lawrence. And thank you.

[justaguy]

Thanks, MsGuy. As you pointed out, his was a landmark case which set the stage for the advances we have experienced since.

[+ Charlie]

R.I.P. John Lawrence.

[seeker630]

... Let's take a moment to remember one of our own who had the gumption and sheer cussedness to do something important for us all.

 

Amen!

[Toulouse]

Thanks for posting this MSGuy. R.I.P. Mr. Lawrence.

[JackTwist]

If you are gay and have ever had sex, spare a moment of thought for this gentleman's passing. He fought "the system" to gain greater equality for many of us.

[Pegasus]

Thanks for letting us know Msguy. I live in Texas and had no idea that he had died. What a courageous man and invaluable legacy.

[bootdad]

It is incomprehensible that this could have occurred just a little more than a decade ago. It speaks to everything that is wrong with the Texas redneck reality. And before you all start getting on your PC high horse ... let's face it - this could only have happen in a backwash state like Texas.

[Phil_musc]

I'm not so sure about that, Bootdad. I noticed a decided swing to the right in New England during the George W. days and we're all still digging out from that political shift. Perpetual vigilance is still the order of the day, although there have been many steps forward. If you think that I'm overly-cautious, consider how the right has never stopped trying to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion decision; or failing to overturn it, limit the decision to as narrow a ruling as possible, seriously curtailing a woman's right to choose.

[uwsman2]

It was not coincidental that the case came from Texas, because it was really all about the police lying in order to bust a gay man in his home. A book is coming out about the case (referred to in the NY Times obit) called "Flagrant Conduct" which tells the entire story based on interviews with everybody involved.

 

At the time, there were still quite a few states that made "anal or oral sex" a crime, although only a handful just applied to gay sex - most of the so-called sodomy laws as of 2003 applied to all anal or oral sex, regardless whether it was between men, between a man and a woman, or between women. But getting the right case to the Supreme Court really required a situation where the police were over-the-top and, voila, Houston PD.