Supreme Court Silences Santorum

Thomas Fine | July 8, 2003

The Supreme Court has spoken. Gay sex cannot be outlawed. Senator Rick Santorum is not commenting, but the Christian Right is fuming. CNN reports that Robert Knight, a spokesman for the conservative Culture and Family Institute, said Thursday's ruling would have "very real consequences."

Knight warned that it would undermine the legal foundation of marriage, lead to more deaths among gay men from sexually transmitted diseases and lead to schoolchildren being taught "that homosexual sodomy is he same as marital sex."

The Christian Right is hung-up on sex; the Supreme Court isn't buying it.

Quoting from the courts majority opinion, written by Justice Kennedy,

"This, as a general rule, should counsel against attempts by the State, or a court, to define the meaning of the relationship or to set its boundaries absent injury to a person or abuse of an institution the law protects. It suffices for us to acknowledge that adults may choose to enter upon this relationship in the confines of their homes and their own private lives and still retain their dignity as free persons. When sexuality finds overt expression in intimate conduct with another person, the conduct can be but one element in a personal bond that is more enduring. The liberty protected by the Constitution allows homosexual persons the right to make this choice."

Later, and most emphatically, Justice Kennedy states,

"The case does involve two adults who, with full and mutual consent from each other, engaged in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle. The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government."

This was about much more than sex. It was a crossroads for American culture. The highest court in the land finally recognized the discrimination inherent in these laws. Consensual adult sexual behavior is now framed as an extension of larger relationship between free people, and in that sense the court has provided an important validation of the dignity of human intimacy. Senator Santorum will probably keep his mouth shut, for now.

Thomas Fine is an Associate Professor of Mental Health Counseling at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio.

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