On the occasion of two major advances for same-sex marriage, let us not forget that it was exactly ten years ago today that the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Lawrence v. Texas that people had the right to have sex with others of the same sex.
It seems almost unthinkable now that it was ever otherwise and that such sex was actually criminalized, such is the speed with which attitudes have changed.
It is very likely that in ten years time, we will have that same sense of astonishment that there once was a time when same-sex couples were either not allowed to get married or their marriages were treated as inferior.
I think that when rights are expanded to cover more people without any adverse effects on those who already have them, acceptance is more rapid.
While we are at it, let us remember that June is also the month in which the US Supreme Court in Loving v, Virginia, struck down all laws banning inter-racial marriage.
June should be celebrated in the US as the month of love.
Two weeks and 46 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down antimiscegenation laws in 18 states. Such laws banned interracial couples from getting married. Virginia actually made it a felony for state residents to leave the state, enter into an interracial marriage, and return.
At the time Loving was handed down, only about 27% of Americans approved of interracial marriage.
Actually, it isn’t that inconceivable that gay sex was illegal ten years ago. Oral sex bans are still on the books in some states. Also, I understand that it’s illegal to fish from the back of a camel in Idaho.