Traditional Definition of Marriage Could Hang in the Balance

In a potential landmark case, the US Supreme Court will examine Wednesday whether the Texas [anti-sodomy] law violates the equal protection and privacy rights of homosexuals, or whether the law is, instead, a legitimate attempt by the state to uphold its view of sexual morality, family values, and traditional marriage.

Supporters of the law say there is no fundamental right in the Constitution to engage in certain homosexual acts. To strike down the Texas law, they say, could create such a right and lay the legal groundwork for recognition of same-sex marriages.

Opponents of the law say among the most fundamental of rights guaranteed in the Constitution is the right to be let alone. The government does not enjoy the unfettered power to intrude into the most intimate and private aspects of what happens in American bedrooms, they say.