Tyron Garner.Like countless LGBT LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Americans, Tyron Garner, who died in a Houston hospital September 11, longed to live a life of serenity and comfort. But when Houston police burst into the home of his friend John Geddes Lawrence John Geddes Lawrence is a medical technologist from Houston, Texas, noted as the first-named appellant in the Lawrence v. Texas case. At the time of the Supreme Court's decision, he was employed at Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena, Texas as shift supervisor in the in September 1998 and arrested the two men for having sex (then illegal under state law), Garner did not cower cow·er intr.v. cow·ered, cow·er·ing, cow·ers To cringe in fear. [Middle English couren, of Scandinavian origin. in retreat. Instead, he stood to face discrimination with conviction and honor. In part because of his efforts, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down antigay sodomy laws A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as sex crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but is typically understood by courts to include any sexual act which does not lead to procreation. across the country in the landmark 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S., 123 S.Ct. 2472, 156 L.Ed.2d 508 (2003), striking down state Sodomy laws as applied to gays and lesbians. . Garner worked hard to make sure that others would not have their civil liberties violated just because of who they choose to love behind closed doors. While he may not have been a traditional activist, he was a leader all the same. In the words of Bayard Rustin: "When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him." Garner left this world with dignity, pride, and the respect of gays and lesbians everywhere. His courage will never be forgotten. |
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