How did the Texas Homosexual Conduct law treat same-sex couples differently from different-sex couples?

The Texas "Homosexual Conduct" law treated same-sex and different-sex couples differently by criminalizing specific forms of intimate sexual conduct only when performed by individuals of the same sex.1

While the statute prohibited this "deviate sexual intercourse" for same-sex couples, it did not criminalize identical behavior when performed by different-sex couples. This discriminatory application was a central focus of the legal challenge, as it raised significant questions regarding the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law. In the landmark Lawrence v. Texas ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately determined that such laws were unconstitutional, affirming that the liberty and privacy interests protected by the Constitution extend to both homosexual and heterosexual persons.1