Following its decision in Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Kansas Court of Appeals to reconsider the conviction of gay teen-ager Matthew Limon. (Previous XGW coverage. Focus on the Family defended the sentencing.)

In a ruling published today, the Kansas Court of Appeals upholds the state’s discriminatory sentencing of gay teen-agers and dictates that the young man will remain in prison until he is 35.

ACLU response

Addendum: From an AP article in the Dodge City Daily Globe:

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who defended the 17-year prison sentence for Matthew Limon, now says the state’s “Romeo and Juliet” law is too lenient. The law virtually eliminates the prison sentence for underage sex if both partners are close of age and heterosexual.

But Kline maintains that gay teen-agers should still be punished as harshly as Limon, and more harshly than heterosexual teens.

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