Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas, assigned in this week's reading, explore constitutional and moral issues associated with gay rights and sexual orientation. The intense debate among the justices in these cases serve as the foundation for understanding the significance of later decisions about gay rights, such as Hollingsworth v. Perry which addressed the validity of California's ban on same sex marriage and United States v. Windsor which dealt with the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In the Windsor case the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a section of DOMA that denied federal benefits to the spouse of a same sex marriage couple whose marriage was legally recognized by the state of New York. Most recently, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the right to marry is a fundamental right protected by the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution and that this protection extends to same sex marriages.

Use the Bowers and Lawrence cases as the basis for exploring the moral, political, policy and legal issues associated with rights and sexual orientation. Justice Scalia's dissent in the Lawrence decision, along with Justice Kennedy's opinion for the majority in that case, are especially useful in addressing the issues raised in this week's materials. How does Justice Kennedy justify the shift in the Supreme Court's view of homosexual behavior in the Lawrence case? What problems does Justice Scalia raise in his dissent about issues of equality as they relate to homosexual behavior and morality? They key issue to consider in this, using the assigned materials, is the extent to which government should be involved in regulating morality. Issues about morality and democracy are raised in Dahl's book, On Democracy. In Chapter 5, "Why Democracy", items 5 and 6 in his discussion about the advantages of democracy, address moral autonomy and responsibility. Don't just summarize the cases. While some details from the cases are obviously important your focus should be on the moral issues involved in the cases and how these relate to the politics of rights in America.

I encourage you also to research United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges to consider their implications for what they signify about the evolution of rights in the United States. This week's discussion forum is set within the framework of issues that have been addressed by the Supreme Court. But the debate over sexual orientation has moved ahead quickly in recent years addressing issues concerning transgender rights and non-binary identity.