Washington, June 26: In a major ruling on homosexual and privacy rights, the US Supreme Court ruled today that states cannot ban sodomy between consenting adults. Texas was one of four us states where it is a crime for members of the same sex to engage in sodomy, which the state defined as oral or anal sex.

The challenge to the Texas sodomy statute began when sheriff's deputies in Harris County arrested John Lawrence and Tyron Garner after they were discovered having sex in Lawrence's apartment in September 1998.

Ruth Harlow, the lawyer for the two men challenging the Texas law, praised the ruling as recognizing the "basic humanity" of gay and lesbian Americans.

"All of us as Americans have the right to choose how we can express our love for one another in the privacy of our own homes," Harlows aid.
"The court is just catching up with American society, which has made major progress."

Bureau Report