Brief of Petitioners

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

OPINIONS AND ORDERS BELOW

JURISDICTION

STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

1. Petitioners' Arrests, Convictions, and Appeals
2. The Homosexual Conduct Law

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

ARGUMENT

1. Section 21.06 Violates Constitutional Rights to Liberty and Privacy Possessed by All Americans
   1. American Adults Have Fundamental Liberty and Privacy Interests in Making Their Own Choices About Private, Consensual Sexual Relations
      1. Well-Established Protections for Inti mate Relationships, Bodily Integrity, and the Privacy of the Home Converge in This Vital Freedom
      2. There Is No Constitutional Exception to Liberty for Gay and Lesbian Citizens
      3. Objective Considerations Support Re-cognition of Fundamental Interests Here
   2. Texas Cannot Justify Section 21.06's Criminal Prohibition of Petitioners' and Other Adults' Private Sexual Intimacy
   3. Bowers Should Not Block Recognition and Enforcement of These Fundamental Interests
2. Section 21.06 Discriminates Without Any Legitimate and Rational Basis, Contrary to the Guarantee of Equal Protection
   1. Section 21.06's Classification Is Not Rationally Related to Any Legitimate Purpose and Serves Only the Illegitimate Purpose of Disadvantaging One Group
   2. The Broader Realities Reinforce This Law's Affront to Core Principles of Equal Protection
      1. The Homosexual Conduct Law Brands Gay Persons as Second-Class Citizens and Licenses Wide-Ranging Discrimi nation Against Them
      2. The Homosexual Conduct Law Reflects and Helps Fuel a Continuing History of Discrimination Against Gay Americans
   3. Equal Protection Concerns Are Particularly Strong Here Because of the Personal Burdens Imposed by This Criminal Law

CONCLUSION