Jun 20, 2003  |  By: PENNY WEAVE  | COMMENTS     

The historic U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down Texas’ so-called “homosexual conduct” law sent ripples of joy throughout the country, but nowhere was the excitement more palpable than in Houston, where the case originated.

Gay Houston attorney Mitchell Katine and others who have worked on Lawrence and Garner v. Texas for five years — and on the move to eliminate the Texas sodomy law in political arenas — rejoiced at the news Thursday morning.

“At first we knew we had won but we didn’t know what we had won on,” Katine said. “Quite frankly, I could not imagine that the court would actually overrule Bowers v. Hardwick.

“When I got the decision that this was an overruling of Bowers v. Hardwick, I knew this was even a further reaching decision than on the right to equal protection,” Katine said. “This is a much further reaching decision than I could have imagined. We’re very excited.”

The Supreme Court struck down the ban on gay sex Thursday, ruling that the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy. Gay activists and attorneys had argued that the Texas statute was not only a violation of right to privacy but also a violation of equal protection guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

This week’s ruling reverses Bowers v. Hardwick, the infamous Supreme Court 1986 decision that upheld a Georgia anti-sodomy law similar to the Texas statute.

Katine said gay Houstonians John Lawrence and Tyron Garner, the two men arrested in 1998 in Lawrence’s bedroom, originating the challenge to the Texas law, are amazed at the nationwide reaction to the decision.

“I called John and Tyron and congratulated them and let them know that we could not have done this without them and their willingness to be out in the forefront,” Katine said. “They are thrilled. They are excited. They are happy. They understand the significance of this decision on the country.

Katine actually first heard the news from his mother. At 9:12 a.m. Thursday, as media and fellow attorneys surrounded Katine’s desk, awaiting the official decision, the phone rang. It was Katine’s mother.

“[She said] ‘Congratulations, son — you won!’ ” Katine said. “I said, ‘Mom, that’s fantastic.’ ”

He emphasized the potentially far-reaching effects of the Supreme Court ruling.

“All I’m saying is that what this decision has done is it puts me and my partner on the same grounds as our heterosexual neighbors,” Katine said. “We all have the right to privacy in this country. We all have the right to not have the government telling us what we can do and what we can’t do in our bedrooms as adults.”

On a lighter note, Katine is ready for Saturday’s Houston Pride Parade — particular significant this year in light of the Lawrence v. Texas decision.

“I’ve been telling people let’s wait for this decision and then you can go have sex,” Katine said with a laugh. “We are now free and we are going to have one hell of a Pride parade. The rally is going to be great.

“Everyone needs to know that every case is important and we all have civil rights that can be protected. We can actually win,” Katine said.

The office of Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal represented the state of Texas in the Lawrence and Garner v. Texas case. Rosenthal, who initially argued the case for the state, could not be reached by press time Thursday.

But Rosenthal said last fall that his office was prepared to vigorously defend the Texas law.

“One of the things that we’ve done is we’ve sworn to uphold the Constitution of the State of Texas and of the United States, and we’re fulfilling our oath,” Rosenthal said.

Bill Delmore, the Harris County assistant prosecutor who also worked on the case, in the past has said that the Legislature should throw out the sodomy law if that's what Texans want.

"My concern was primarily that the decision be made in the Legislature so we could protect the people's right through their elected representatives to determine what conduct they believe to be immoral and ought to be against the law," Delmore has said.