New York, N.Y., June 26, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today hailed the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned a Texas statute that criminalized homosexual sodomy, saying it reaffirmed the principle that "bigotry and fear may not be the basis for criminalizing private consensual conduct."

Glen A. Tobias, ADL National Chairman and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We are all safer today because the Court reaffirmed the principle that bigotry and fear may not be the basis for criminalizing private consensual conduct. Recognizing that Americans are entitled to respect for their private lives, the decision is a ringing endorsement of the principles of individual liberty and freedom from discrimination and bigotry.

In an amicus brief, principally authored by former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger for a broad-based coalition of civil rights groups, ADL argued that the specific targeting and criminalization of homosexual activity involving consenting adults is the kind of hate- and bias- based legislation that the Constitution simply does not allow.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.