LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Weekend Beach Bum:Sodomy, anyone? |
by Eric Morrison |
The significance of the recent Supreme Court decision striking down the Texas sodomy law cannot be overstated. For anyone living under a rainbow-colored rock, the highest court in the land declared the sodomy law of President Bush's home state unconstitutional. One dark night, two gay men having consensual sex in the bedroom of a private residence were arrested and jailed after a neighbor called the police, complaining of an alleged noise violation. (I can make some noise in the bedroom myself, but I suspect the neighbor was a bit on the homophobic side.) In its verdict, the court majority cited privacy rights as its basis for striking down the law, shying away from any sweeping statements on GLBT rights. The court minority, of course, screamed about special rights and opening up a Pandora's box of sorts for GLBT rightsyou know, the old slippery slope theory.
No one is without an opinion on this decision, except President Bush. After a lot of pressure from both sides of the argument, the White House issued a very brief statement neither supporting nor condemning the decision. With Howard Dean nipping at his heels, even good ole W is smart enough not to alienate the Log Cabin crowd, but neither does he want to outrage his conservative base, hence the bland statement. While governor of Texas, however, Bush publicly and repeatedly supported the state's sodomy law, so it is no secret how he truly feels. Not especially well-known for his savvy or eloquence, President Bush surrounds himself with smart political advisors and talented spin doctors. Why should he throw his ten-gallon hat in the ring on such a controversial issue, when it's so much easier to keep riding high on the burgeoning waves of Homeland Security? But not everyone is keeping quiet about this landmark decision. On the long drive from Wilmington to Rehoboth last weekend, my radio scanner locked on an extremely ticked-off talk show host who prodded listeners to join him in a movement to impeach the Supreme Court justices who struck down the sodomy law. (That's a great idea! Every time we don't like a decision made by a high-ranking politician or judge, let's just impeach them. We'll get a hell of a lot done that way.) Every so often, some nut called in from an Iowa cornfield to congratulate the host on such a stellar suggestion, but for the most part, the host seemed to be marching in a parade of one. The overwhelming lack of response to this man's torrential tirade against the recent Supreme Court decision served to confirm what I've suspected all alongthat no one really cares much about the decision, aside from GLBT rights activists. We live in an age where we're more concerned with the fashion decisions of the stars than the legal decisions of the Supreme Court. Jewel's got it right in her poetic hit Intuition: Miss J's big butt IS boss. But I also think that most people recognize the utter ridiculousness of sodomy laws. If two adults can all but have sex on television, they certainly ought to be able to do whatever the hell they want in private without worrying about the moral police beating down their door and throwing them in the slammer. Gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, pansexual, whatever and whoever you are, consenting adults ought to be able to do whatever they want in the bedroom. I don't care if they're doing somersaults into bed while dripping hot wax and abusing cucumbers, no one's hard-earned tax dollars should be spent to prevent a situation where no one's getting hurt and everyone's having a good time (with the possible exception of the cucumbers). Sodomy laws are as anachronistic as organ-crushing corsets and powdered wigs. Most of them were written at a time when the masters of the house put on knickers and rode in a horse-drawn carriage to legislative hall to pass laws supporting slavery, then came home to bonk the female slaves and deny their children. (Shades of Strom Thurmond?) Only since Stonewall have sodomy laws been cited as one more roadblock in the long journey to GLBT equality. If a policeman had walked in on Mrs. Jones giving Mr. Jones a good time, he would have winked a hearty congratulations at Mr. Jones and politely excused himself, or maybe even asked to join the party. Sodomy laws have been kept around strictly to discriminate against GLBT persons, and it's high time someone strikes them down. If we've learned anything in the two and a quarter centuries of our republic, we should recognize two things: you just can't legislate morality, and it's utterly futile to fight victimless crimes. Murder and rape and robbery are wrong and illegal because there are victims, and every sane person agrees that these things ought to be illegal. But prohibition didn't work, and neither do anti-sex laws. We may be the world leader in technology and sheer power, but we're decades behind many countries on the vital issue of human rights, particularly GLBT and sexual rights. A recent msn.com poll asked website visitors to state their position on gay and lesbian marriage. Only 15% of people said they support absolutely no equal rights for gays and lesbians, while 30% favored all equal rights aside from marriage. 55% of visitors to the site supported full rights for gays and lesbians, including marriage. I am finally convinced that, at long last, the day is coming soon when I will be able to practice sodomy happily on my honeymoon. Eric can be reached at e.a.morrison@verizon.net. Drop him a line if you're a big fan of sodomy, too. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 9, July 11, 2003 |