Before Lawrence v. Texas: The Making of a Queer Social Movement

2024 Coral Horton Tullis Memorial Prize, Texas State Historical Association2024 Award of Merit, The Philosophical Society of Texas Nonfiction Book Prize The grassroots queer activism and legal challenges that led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in favor of gay and lesbian equality. In 2003 the US Supreme Court overturned anti-sodomy laws across the country, ruling in Lawrence v. Texas that the Constitution protects private consensual sex between adults. To some, the decision seemed to come like lightning from above, altering the landscape of America’s sexual politics all at once. In actuality, many years of work and organizing led up to the legal case, and the landmark ruling might never have happened were it not for the passionate struggle of Texans who rejected their state’s discriminatory laws. Before Lawrence v. Texas tells the story of the long, troubled, and ultimately hopeful road to constitutional change. Wesley G. Phelps describes the achievements, setbacks, and unlikely