Texas: El Paso Senator Jose Rodriguez urges repeal of sodomy law
A Democratic lawmaker is proposing that Texas repeals an anti-gay law overturned by the US Supreme Court a decade ago.
El Paso Senator Jose Rodriguez is expected to lay out his measure before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday.
Similar efforts in the past have failed as conservative lawmakers have refused to support the repeal.
Although the US Supreme Court declared Texas’ former sodomy law unconstitutional in 2003, state lawmakers have never formally repealed the law.
It treated consensual same-sex sexual activity as a Class C misdemeanour, punishable with a fine of up to $500 (£327).
The US Supreme Court’s 2003 decision to overturn the law invalidated sodomy laws in thirteen other states, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every US state and territory.
Senator Rodriguez says Texas should recognise the court’s decision and gay rights by taking the law off the books.
