Willow At Gay Pride Parades??

Q: Why does that necessarily follow? If the Texas state legislature is the problem, you should address that problem. Don't get me wrong, I do understand why they took advantage of this opportunity. I just think that staying at the state level and fighting to have the law changed would have been better for the nation overall, if not on this issue. I'm curious, was there an active lobby in the states that still have these archaic laws on the books to have them expunged?

A: The Texas courts were the problem, as two men had been arrested for sodomy and appealed it to the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the case, so they appealed to the US Supreme Court, who have made a ruling. Why should two men charged with a crime for having sex go to the legistlature about it? No, see above. Firmly in the judicial branch. You don't lobby to change laws so that you can retroactively remove a misdemeanor or felony from your record. I do not know. Doesn't matter either way. Those laws have no business being on the books. The Texas courts were the problem.Yes, on the courts. And it is *also* the right of those who are convicted of crimes in court to appeal to the state and federal courts to have their case reexamined. And

it is the state and federal supreme courts' duty to reexamine the case and make a decision as to whether the law is constitutional or not, and whether the decision in the appealed case is appropriate. The supreme court does not make laws, it can make decisions *on* laws. In this case, it can say "these laws are unconstitutional" and strike them down. This is one of the checks and balances inherent in having the system we do (legislative, judicial, executive). If the legislature has no checks on their ability to make laws, then they need not worry about sticking to the constitution, for the court cann't strike down the unconstitutional laws. But that's not how the government works.