Lawrence v. Texas plaintiff dies

Tyrone Garner, one of the plaintiffs involved in the landmark Lawrence v. Texas case, died Monday.

Garner and John Lawrence challenged homophobic sodomy laws after they were arrested for having consensual sex in Lawrence's Houston home. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that Texas's "Homosexual Conduct" law, which criminalized gay sex, was unconstitutional.

"Because Tyrone Garner and John Lawrence had the courage to challenge homophobic sodomy laws, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that love, sexuality, and family play the same role in gay people's lives as they do for everyone else," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of the legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, which argued Garner and Lawrence's case. "That's a colossal legacy and one for which his community will forever be thankful." (The Advocate)