{
  "id": "RL31681",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31681",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 304452,
      "date": "2005-05-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:43:43.042029",
      "title": "Homosexuality and the Constitution: A Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Lawrence v. Texas",
      "summary": "In a sweeping decision issued on June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas state\nstatute\nthat made it a crime for homosexuals to engage in certain private sex acts. Specifically, the\nCourt\u2019s\nruling in  Lawrence v. Texas  held that the due process privacy guarantee of the Fourteenth\nAmendment extends to protect consensual gay sex. Although the Court also considered whether the\nTexas state statute violated the constitutional right to equal protection, the Court ultimately based\nits ruling on broader privacy grounds. In addition, the Court also overturned its 1986 decision in\n Bowers v. Hardwick , a controversial case in which the Court ruled that there was no\nconstitutional\nright to privacy that protects homosexual sodomy. This report provides an overview of the Supreme\nCourt\u2019s opinion in  Lawrence v. Texas , coupled with a discussion of its implications\nfor future cases\ninvolving gay rights in general and same-sex marriage in particular. For a more detailed discussion\nof current developments regarding gay marriage, see  CRS Report RL31994 ,  Same-Sex\nMarriages:\nLegal Issues , by Alison M. Smith.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
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          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31681",
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          "filename": "files/20050526_RL31681_d63b1deda710ab3f1710a3e10ed8f93d9b00c8a8.html",
          "images": null
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31681",
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Constitutional Questions"
  ]
}