In a significant move, the Texas House of Representatives has voted to repeal a decades-old law that criminalised same-sex sexual activity. Twelve Republicans joined Democrats in a 72-55 vote to eliminate the 1973 statute, which has remained on the books despite being unenforceable since 2003 following the landmark Lawrence v. Texas U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
According to The Texas Tribune, Democrats have pushed to formally erase the outdated law since 1983, seeking to remove lingering discriminatory legislation targeting LGBTQ+ Texans.
The bill’s author, openly gay state Representative Venton Jones (D), addressed the House on Thursday, clarifying that the repeal was not a debate over the court’s decision but a reaffirmation of individual liberties. “I’m asking you to vote for a law that upholds the principles that Texans should have the freedom and ability to make their own private decisions without unwarranted government interference,” he said.
Jones acknowledged those who had championed this cause before him, stating, “I am standing on the shoulders of people who have carried this bill before me, and that’s where I get my strength.”
The bill now awaits a second House vote expected on Friday before heading to the Senate, where its outcome remains uncertain.
Calls to repeal the law gained urgency in light of comments from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In his concurring opinion in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organisation decision, Thomas suggested reconsidering the 2003 ruling that invalidated anti-sodomy laws. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Lawrence v. Texas, the Texas statute could be reinstated, reviving legal risks for LGBTQ+ individuals engaging in consensual activity in private.
“It was already past time to do this, and now even more so,” said Jones, highlighting the potential threat of the law’s reactivation.
In a rare bipartisan alignment, conservative state Rep. Brian Harrison (R), known for critiquing colleagues he deems insufficiently conservative, co-authored the bill. “Criminalising homosexuality is not the role of government, and I support repealing it…. [I] will continue consistently fighting for limited government and individual liberty,” Harrison said.
He also noted that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican, had expressed support for repealing the law. In 2022, a Cruz spokesperson described the statute as “an uncommonly silly law,” asserting that “consenting adults should be able to do what they wish in their private sexual activity, and government has no business in their bedrooms.”
However, not all top Texas Republicans have publicly supported the repeal. When asked in 2022, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dade Phelan declined to comment on the issue. That same year, the Texas GOP platform labelled homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a long-time critic of LGBTQ+ rights, said in June 2022 he would be willing to defend a law challenging Lawrence v. Texas. As a state representative in the early 2000s, Paxton backed criminal penalties for same-sex activity, arguing such laws protected “public health” and discouraged sexual behaviour outside marriage. He also signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the sodomy ban, citing statistics on HIV among gay and bisexual men, despite the contradiction that such bans hinder prevention and treatment efforts.
