SEX AND SODOMY
Got your attention now? I'm not sure what I think of the recent Lawrence decision overruling the 1986 Bowers decision, thereby striking down laws that forbid oral sex, and I haven't studied the decisions. But the public debate seems to be having a difficult time separating the issues, which are (1) should such sex be banned and (2) does the Constitution actually prevent state legislatures from banning it? Number 1 is a policy issue, that should probably be answered "no." Number 2 is a question of whether the Constitution acknowledges a "right to oral sex." I don't know that it does...but on the other hand, does it have to, considering that the Constitution is a limitation on government power and not a document granting rights, only guaranteeing those rights perceived in the late 1700s as, in many cases, "natural rights." So, should oral sex be subsumed within the unalienable right to pursue happiness? What does this say about the right to, say, enjoy certain illegal drugs in the privacy of your own home? Is this a slippery slope? Discuss.