How did Romer v. Evans help set the stage for Lawrence v. Texas?

The Supreme Court’s decision in Romer v. Evans (1996) served as a critical turning point that helped set the stage for Lawrence v. Texas (2003) by signaling a shift in the Court’s approach to gay rights.12

Romer was the first case in which the Court declared that discrimination based on sexual orientation violated constitutionally protected rights, specifically the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By striking down a Colorado amendment that prohibited legal protections for homosexuals, the Court demonstrated that a majority of justices no longer shared the restrictive sentiment that had previously animated Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).1

Following Romer, gay rights advocates and legal organizations like Lambda Legal believed that the Court was moving away from its earlier conservative stance, providing the necessary momentum to challenge Bowers directly. This shift encouraged activists to pursue Lawrence as a test case to overturn Bowers, ultimately leading the Court to affirm that intimate, consensual sexual conduct is protected under the due process clause.12