This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, March 22, 2012.

I'm Caleb Brown.

The Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas was about more than the prohibition on

homosexual conduct at issue in the case.

According to Dale Carpenter, it was about homosexual status as well.

Carpenter is author of the new book, Flagrant Conduct, the story of Lawrence v Texas.

He spoke about the book at the Cato Institute, March 16th.

The decision that resulted from Lawrence v. Texas, from that litigation, is as close to a Brown versus Board of Education

for gay men and lesbians as we have had so far, certainly the most important decision yet. A landmark. had a landmark decision

landmark decision for the rights at least of gay men and lesbians.

Yet very little I think is known about the actual background of the case and the events that led from a

bedroom arrest or an apartment arrest to the Texas courts to the Supreme Court.

And that is the story that this book tells.

Over the next 20 minutes or so, I can't recount every one of those stories.

There isn't the time.

And in addition, I want you to read and buy the book.

It is available right outside and I'm happy to sign the books after all of this is over.

So I hope that I can just tease you enough into buying this so you won't read all of these wonderful reviews and feel like that's a substitute

for actually picking it up.

There's more in there.

The Texas statute at issue was passed in 1973 by the Texas legislature.

It was the end product of a process of revision over a period of 120 years in Texas, a process that paralleled changes in American law in general, such that the state moved from banning the crime not fit to be named, as Sir

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