You might think that because of a landmark Supreme Court case two decades ago, the book was closed on sodomy laws in the United States. It feels like ancient history. For most of us, the idea that a state could burst into your bedroom and arrest you for what you do with another consenting adult sounds like a plot point from a dystopian novel. But the reality is messier. It's gritty. It’s also surprisingly current.
Laws don't just vanish. They linger in the fine print of state codes like ghosts.
Back in 2003, the Supreme Court handed down Lawrence v. Texas. It was a massive deal. John Lawrence and Tyron Garner had been arrested in Houston because police, responding to a false report of a weapons disturbance, walked in on them having sex. The court eventually ruled 6-3 that "intimate sexual conduct" between consenting adults is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, famously stating that the petitioners were "entitled to respect for their private lives."
But here is the kicker. Even after that ruling, several states kept their sodomy laws on the books for years. Some still have them today. They are "unconstitutional," which means they can't be legally enforced, but they remain part of the official statutory language. Why does that matter? Because as long as a law exists in writing, it can be used to harass, intimidate, or complicate the lives of people who don't have a law degree to defend themselves on the spot.
The Complicated Map of Remaining Statutes
If you look at a map of the U.S. today, you’ll see a patchwork of legal residue.
Take Mississippi or Oklahoma. In these places, the statutes weren't immediately scrubbed clean. In some instances, it took a literal act of the state legislature to repeal the language, and many politicians weren't exactly lining up to be the one who "legalized sodomy" on the record, even if the Supreme Court had already done it for them. It’s political optics.
For a long time after Lawrence, states like Kansas and Texas still had "homosexual conduct" laws in their penal codes. While a police officer couldn't technically throw you in jail for it, having that law there allowed for some really shady stuff in the lower courts. For example, in child custody battles or adoption proceedings, a lawyer might point to the state's standing sodomy law to argue that a parent was technically a "lawbreaker" or engaged in "deviant" behavior. It’s a loophole used to bypass the spirit of the Supreme Court's ruling.
The Michigan and Maryland Battles
Michigan is a wild example. For years, their "crime against nature" statute remained. It wasn't until very recently—we're talking 2023 and 2024—that some of these states finally moved to purge the language entirely. In Michigan, the law was actually tied up with animal cruelty statutes, making the legal cleanup a bureaucratic nightmare.
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Maryland had a similar slog. They didn't officially repeal their sodomy law until 2020. Think about that. Seventeen years after the highest court in the land said "you can't do this," the law was still sitting there in Annapolis. People often ask, "Who cares if it's just words on a page?" Well, ask anyone who's had a background check flag a decades-old "solicitation" charge that was categorized under a sodomy statute. It affects jobs. It affects lives.
Why Lawrence v. Texas Changed Everything (and Why It Didn't)
Before Lawrence, the precedent was a 1986 case called Bowers v. Hardwick. It was a dark time for civil rights. In Bowers, the court basically said there was no fundamental right to engage in sodomy. They essentially gave states a green light to police the bedroom.
When Lawrence overturned Bowers, it wasn't just about sex. It was about the "right to be let alone."
But here is the nuance. Lawrence focused on private, consensual acts. It did not necessarily protect public acts, or acts involving minors, or non-consensual acts. Critics of the ruling at the time, like Justice Antonin Scalia, argued that this was the start of a "slippery slope." He wrote a stinging dissent, basically predicting that if you take away the state's power to regulate "morality" in the bedroom, you lose the ability to ban same-sex marriage or other "traditional" restrictions.
Honestly? He was right about the trajectory, even if his tone was apocalyptic. Without the Lawrence decision, we never would have seen Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. They are two links in the same chain.
The Ghost Laws and Modern Policing
Even today, we see "zombie laws." These are statutes that have been declared unconstitutional but haven't been repealed.
- Florida: Their "unnatural and lascivious act" law was frequently used to target men in parks.
- South Carolina: Their "buggery" law remained a talking point for years.
- Idaho: They finally moved to repeal their "crime against nature" law in 2022, but not without a fight.
The danger of these ghost laws isn't always a prison sentence. It’s the arrest itself. If a cop wants to be a jerk, they can cite a defunct law to justify a stop or a search. Sure, the charges will get dropped eventually. But by then, you’ve been handcuffed, your car’s been towed, and you’ve spent a night in lockup. The process becomes the punishment.
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The Intersection of Sodomy Laws and Sex Offender Registries
This is where things get truly dark. In the pre-2003 era, some people were convicted under these laws and forced to register as sex offenders.
When Lawrence happened, it didn't automatically wipe everyone's record. You had to petition the court. You had to hire a lawyer. Thousands of people—mostly gay men—were left on registries for acts that were no longer even crimes. In states like Idaho and South Carolina, some individuals were still fighting to get off these registries well into the 2010s.
Imagine being 60 years old and still having to report to a sheriff's office every six months because of something you did in 1985 that is now perfectly legal. It's a bureaucratic trap.
The Role of "Crimes Against Nature"
The term "sodomy" is actually quite narrow in some legal contexts, so many states used the broader "crimes against nature." This was a catch-all. It could mean anything a judge didn't like. Historically, these laws were rooted in English Common Law and were heavily influenced by religious doctrine.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, sodomy laws in the United States were often capital offenses. We moved away from the death penalty for these acts, but the "moral" stigma remained baked into the legal system. By the mid-20th century, these laws were the primary tool used to justify the "Lavender Scare," where thousands of federal employees were fired because their "private conduct" made them "security risks."
The Post-Roe Landscape: Is Lawrence in Danger?
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. When Roe v. Wade was overturned in the Dobbs decision in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas didn't mince words. In his concurring opinion, he explicitly suggested that the court should reconsider other substantive due process precedents.
He named Lawrence v. Texas specifically.
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This sent shockwaves through the legal community. If the Supreme Court decided to "revisit" Lawrence, the legality of consensual sex could theoretically return to the states. If that happened, those "zombie laws" we talked about earlier? They would instantly become enforceable again. They wouldn't need to pass new laws; the old ones are already sitting there, waiting.
What This Means for Privacy Rights
The legal backbone of Lawrence is the right to privacy. While the word "privacy" isn't explicitly in the Constitution, the Court has long held that it's implied by the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 9th Amendments.
If the legal foundation for sodomy laws in the United States being unconstitutional is removed, it doesn't just affect the LGBTQ+ community. It affects everyone. These laws, at various points in history, were also used to prosecute heterosexual couples for oral or anal sex. The state in your bedroom is an equal-opportunity intruder.
Real-World Impact: How It Affects You Today
You might be thinking, "I live in a blue state, I'm fine." Maybe. But many people move for work. They travel.
Understanding the status of these laws is basically a form of legal self-defense. If you are in a state where these laws are still "on the books" (even if unenforceable), you should know that local law enforcement culture might still be influenced by those old-school "morality" codes.
Actionable Steps to Take
If you are concerned about how these laws or their history might affect you or your community, here is what you can actually do:
- Check Your State's Penal Code: Look for terms like "deviate sexual intercourse," "crimes against nature," or "lewd and lascivious behavior." Organizations like the ACLU or Lambda Legal often keep updated lists of where these "zombie laws" still exist.
- Support Legislative Repeal: If your state still has the language in its books, contact your state representative. Tell them you want the "dead language" removed. It’s often a low-priority issue for them until someone makes a stink about it.
- Expungement Resources: If you or someone you know has an old conviction for a consensual act that was invalidated by Lawrence, look into expungement. Many states have specific processes to clear these records, but they aren't automatic.
- Know Your Rights During an Encounter: If a law enforcement officer ever mentions "conduct" laws during a stop, remember that Lawrence v. Texas is still the law of the land. You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Never admit to "violating" a law that the Supreme Court has already struck down.
The fight over sodomy laws in the United States isn't just a relic of the past. It’s a live wire in the current debate over privacy, state power, and individual liberty. We often assume that progress is a one-way street, but laws have a way of sticking around. They hide in the shadows of the legal code, waiting for a change in the political wind. Staying informed isn't just about history; it's about making sure the bedroom door stays closed to the government for good.