Lawrence Vs. Texas

8 Pages 1942 Words

the way, there have been other landmark cases that have set precedence to the expansion of the right to privacy by the Supreme Court. Loving v. Virginia in 1967, which gave the right of cross-racial marriage and Stanley v. Georgia in 1969, in which the right to read obscene material in the privacy of one’s home was put into law. J.S. Mill’s Harm Principle states that the only reason to interfere with an individual’s liberty is when it prevents harm to others. The doctrine of liberty states that “individuals have a right to a substantial sphere of action—the ‘self-regarding’ sphere—in which they are free from social coercion.” This doctrine allowed free thought through speech and the right to private experimentation in ways of life with other consenting adults. According to Mill’s views on the Harm Principle and the Doctrine of Liberty, “the individual knows better than the society how to promote his/her own welfare.” Adults may choose to enter upon a personal relationship in the confines of their homes and their own private lives and still retain their dignity as free persons. “When sexuality finds overt expression in intimate conduct with another person, the conduct can be but one element in a personal bond that is more enduring.” The liberty protected by the Constitution allows homosexual persons the right to make this choice. Justice Scalia is arguing that the act of sodomy is harmful to others because if exposed to homosexuality, one might b...