Yesterday, Jezebel reported that Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called for the Supreme Court to overturn Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case that prohibited states from criminalizing LGBTQ people who have sex. Paxton’s comments come in the aftermath of Justice Clarence Thomas’ Dobbs concurrence, in which Thomas calls for the court to revisit other precedents previously granted by the Court, such as birth control, marriage equality, and privacy during sex.
In an interview with News Nation, Paxton affirmed his belief that “the Supreme Court has stepped into issues that I don’t think there was any constitutional provision dealing with.” Paxton has a history of actively working against LGBQT issues. From being one of the lawmakers who asked the Supreme Court to decide in favor of Texas’s sodomy ban in Lawrence v. Texas to writing an opinion paving the way for the state to investigate parents of transgender children as child abusers, and has made it clear he will continue to fight against the progress that so many Texans desire.
Jezebel: Texas AG: Supreme Court Should Let States Ban Same-Sex Intimacy
By Susan Rinkunas | June 29, 2022
Key Points:
- “On Saturday, Paxton went on a channel called NewsNation and said in a response to an anchor’s question that he would defend state laws outlawing sodomy, as well as ones outlawing birth control and same-sex marriage.”
- “Anchor: Would you, as Attorney General, be comfortable defending a law that once again outlawed sodomy? That questioned Lawrence again, or Griswold or gay marriage that came from the state legislature? To put to the test what Justice Thomas said?”
- “Paxton: Yeah, I mean, there’s all kinds of issues here. But certainly, the Supreme Court has stepped into issues that I don’t think there was any constitutional provision dealing with, they were legislative issues. And this is one of those issues and there may be more.”
Read the full Jezebel report here.
More coverage of Paxton’s remarks:
Chron: Attorney General Ken Paxton says he will defend Texas sodomy law if Supreme Court revisits Lawrence vs. Texas
LGBTQ Nation: Texas AG willing to spearhead Supreme Court case to criminalize sodomy again
Vice: Texas AG Says He’s ‘Willing and Able’ to Defend a Ban on ‘Sodomy’
Wonkette: Garbage Texas AG Might Bag Him A Sodomite Before This Is All Over
Published: Jun 29, 2022 | Last Modified: Aug 26, 2022