The issue presented is whether the Federal Constitution confers a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy, and hence invalidates the laws of the many States that still make such conduct illegal, and have done so for a very long time:. Respondent would have us announce, as the Court of Appeals did, a fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy. This we are quite unwilling to do.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The Constitution does not grant a fundamental right to sodomy, so state laws banning it remain valid. The Court should not announce such a right unwillingly.
- In plain terms
- The Constitution doesn't protect this act so states can ban it.
- What can you take from it?
- Not all private acts are constitutionally protected rights.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What defines a fundamental right?
- Should morality influence constitutional interpretation?
Another view
Privacy rights have since expanded to protect intimate conduct under later precedents.
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We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time it makes a decision.
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