John G. Lawrence, 68, whose legal case led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted privacy rights to gay men and lesbians, died Nov. 20 in Houston.
He had a heart condition, his partner, Jose Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle.
Mr. Lawrence’s case began in 1998 when a neighbor with a grudge faked a distress call to police, telling them that a man was “going crazy” in Lawrence’s apartment just outside Houston. Police went to the home, pushed open the door and found Lawrence and Tyrone Garner having sex. Both spent several hours in jail for alleged violation of the state sodomy statute, a misdemeanor, and paid $200 fines.
Mitchell Katine, a Houston attorney who represented Mr. Lawrence in the caseLawrence v. Texas, said Mr. Lawrence did not view himself as an activist.
“He was angry at how he was treated, both physically and personally,” Katine told the Chronicle. “He was taken to jail in the middle of the night in his underwear.”
At the time of the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2003, gay rights advocates called it the most important legal advance ever for gay people in the United States.
Writing for the court majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that the two men “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.”
“This ruling lets us get on with our lives, and it opens the door for gay people all over the country,” Mr. Lawrence said at the time.
Since the Supreme Court decision, gay rights have advanced nationwide. Gay marriage is now allowed in the District and some states, and the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed in September.
Garner died in 2006.
From the Washington Post Dec 27th 2011. For a full obituary from Houston County’s Culture Map, go here
Tags: John Lawrence, landmark Case, obituary, Privacy, US Law
