Though I have been aware of this case for some time, actually sitting down and reading it was a shocking experience. To think basic, obvious liberties are held on by such a slim thread and were almost not established due to the rationale expunged in Scalia's dissent is terrifying. The shift from Bowers to Lawrence is stark. I wonder what Scalia would say now considering his more crude forewarnings have not come true.
Scalia was alarmed by the broader framing of the right (from a narrow historical test to a more open ended one); he thought this shift would open the door to all kinds of claims. In reality, most of those predictions never came to pass, which shows how narrow Lawrence actually was in practice, even as it felt transformative.
Though I have been aware of this case for some time, actually sitting down and reading it was a shocking experience. To think basic, obvious liberties are held on by such a slim thread and were almost not established due to the rationale expunged in Scalia's dissent is terrifying. The shift from Bowers to Lawrence is stark. I wonder what Scalia would say now considering his more crude forewarnings have not come true.
Scalia was alarmed by the broader framing of the right (from a narrow historical test to a more open ended one); he thought this shift would open the door to all kinds of claims. In reality, most of those predictions never came to pass, which shows how narrow Lawrence actually was in practice, even as it felt transformative.