Kansas Law on Sodomy Stays on Books Despite a Cull

"Though declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the 2003 case of Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down an antisodomy law in Texas as an invasion of privacy in a ruling viewed as a crucial victory by gay rights organizations, these types of laws still exist throughout the United States.

"Susan Sommer, director of constitutional litigation for Lambda Legal, a national gay rights advocacy group, said that more than a dozen states had antisodomy laws at the time of the ruling, but she did not know how many were subsequently repealed.

"Those that remain, said Ms. Sommer, have a stigmatizing effect on same-sex relationships and can sometimes be wrongly cited by law enforcement officers unaware that they are no longer enforceable. 'Keeping these laws on the books can still do a lot of mischief and cause a lot of harm,' she said."