ce public disapproval and a culture in which homoeroticism was considered to be deeply immoral. The first laws attempting to express these public attitudes opposing homosexuality were modeled on English law and were purposefully vague, usually seeking to punish "crimes against nature." Until the 1970s, homosexuality was classified as a psychological disorder by the American Psychological Association, and the physical expression of the disorder was a crime in most states. Ruthann Robson (1997) notes, "As late as 1968, every state had a statute that punished gay or lesbian sexual expression" (p. 19).
Sex statutes, including laws against sodomy, continue to remain within the province of state governments. Behavior that is legal in one state can still be prosecuted in others, and some laws are aimed specifically at homosexual behavior. By 1997, only 18 states still had laws making sodomy a criminal act; by 1999, this had been reduced to 11 states. Of these, five ban only sodomy between members of the same sex. These laws have continued to be overturned as specific cases have challenged their constitutionality, since they seek to limit behavior between consenting adults which is conducted in private.
Georgia's law, for instance, was first passed in 1834. It faced its greatest historic test in 1982, with the case of a 28-year-old gay man named Michael Hardwick. Hardwick had been arrested and fined $50 for public drinking (although he had simply left the bar where he worked, carrying a beer bottle, which he then disposed of). T
...