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Profamily activists fear that the Supreme Court's June 26 Lawrence and Garner v. Texas decision, which struck down state laws prohibiting homosexual sodomy, also jeopardizes the marriage laws of all 50 states.

"Laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman are in the gun sights of the courts," said Matt Daniels, founder of the Alliance for Marriage in Springfield, Virginia. "The Lawrence case has everything to do with the legal status of marriage."

The 6-3 ruling struck down a Texas statute against homosexual sodomy. It also overturned the Court's 5-4 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), which found no constitutionally protected right to homosexual sex.

Paul M. Smith of the gay-rights organization Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund argued before the Court in March that Texas's statute violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

"The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the majority. "The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime."

After the Court announced its verdict, Lambda officials said they would use Lawrence as a tool in future lawsuits concerning marriage.

Daniels said the Lawrence ruling, coupled with an expected pro-homosexual marriage decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Goodridge v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, would have immediate national implications.

Because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause in Article 4 of the U.S. Constitution, the Goodridge verdict could invalidate the Defense of Marriage Act. Congress overwhelmingly passed DOMA, which President Clinton signed, only seven years ago. DOMA defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Recent appeals court decisions in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec overturning traditional marriage laws could spark further judicial activism in the United States, Daniels said. "Canada is an example of where we're headed unless we put this in the hands of the American people."

Daniels said a constitutional amendment is the solution. He believes it is feasible, considering that 37 states already have passed DOMA laws—including, most recently, Texas. For a proposed amendment to become part of the Constitution, three-fourths of the states (38) must ratify it.

The amendment is succinct: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any state under state or federal law shall be construed to require that marital status or legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." It says nothing about domestic partnerships and civil unions, which would be left to the states.

First-term U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave secured 75 House cosponsors of the amendment within weeks of the Lawrence ruling. In 2000 she successfully championed defense of marriage legislation as a Republican state senator in Colorado.

Public opinion is less comforting to conservatives than it used to be. As recently as 1960, every state had anti-sodomy laws. In 1986, at the time of Bowers, only 26 did. Before Lawrence, Texas was one of only four states to outlaw sodomy only between homosexual partners.

A May Gallup Poll indicated that a record 60 percent of Americans say that homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal and that homosexuality is an acceptable way of life. However, a July Gallup Poll found that support had slipped to 48 percent in the wake of the ruling. That compares to only 32 percent at the time of Bowers.

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September 2003, Vol. 47, No. 9