Public-domain quotes from the Associated Press:
“This is a giant leap forward to a day where we are no longer branded
as criminals.” – Ruth Harlow, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case and
legal director at Lambda Legal.
“If the people have no right to regulate sexuality then ultimately
the institution of marriage is in peril, and with it, the welfare of the
coming generations of children.” – Tom Minnery, vice president of public
policy at Focus on the Family.
“We still have a long way to go in achieving full equality, but the
court’s recognition that all women and men, regardless of their sexuality,
have a constitutional right to privacy is a huge step forward.” – National
Organization for Women President Kim Gandy.
“It is my opinion that this decision represents a paradigm shift from
the court’s previous decisions in holding that homosexual acts are protected
liberty interests and that the Texas Legislature has no rational basis to
forbid those acts.
I am disappointed that the Supreme Court justices who voted in favor
of the reversal did not allow the people of the state of Texas, through
their elected legislators, to determine moral standards of governance for
this state.” – Charles Rosenthal, a lawyer who argued the case for Texas.
“This ruling opens the door for new advances toward full equality and
should be viewed as a challenge to legislators to help pass important legal
protections for GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) Americans –
like employment nondiscrimination laws and comprehensive hate crimes
legislation.” – Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights
Campaign.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision overturning a Texas law against
homosexual sodomy is a defeat for public morality and America’s families.
This ill-conceived decision will have serious repercussions upon public
health and welfare in Texas and other states that still criminalize
sodomy.” – Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of Traditional Values Coalition.
“We are all safer today because the court reaffirmed the principle
that bigotry and fear may not be the basis for criminalizing private
consensual conduct. Recognizing that Americans are entitled to respect for
their private lives, the decision is a ringing endorsement of the principles
of individual liberty and freedom from discrimination and bigotry.” – Glen
A. Tobias, national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League and Abraham H.
Foxman, ADL national director.