[11.3.11] Justice Stevens - Lawrence v. Texas

Facts
1) Stevens was on the majority side that ruled to overturning the ban on same-sex sexual intimacy
2) The Court ruled that the Texas law that prohibited same-sex sexual intercourse violated the Due Process Clause.
3) Bowers v. Hardwick, a case that stated that  "there was no constitutional protection for acts of sodomy," was overruled.
4) The decision was 6 to 3, with Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas dissenting.
5) Interestingly enough, the legal provision that was used for Bowers v. Hardwick was also Due Process.
6) Justice Kennedy said that "the Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual."


Questions
1) How would Texas enforce their law?...
2) What is the reason behind Justice O'Connor's decisions for the two cases?
3) How did the other court justify their position when they said same-sex intercourse was not allowed because it was not "deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition"?
4) Why did the oyez website say that the conviction of this couple did not violate their rights?


http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1985/1985_85_140
http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_02_102