Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America, 1861-2003

This doorstop begins unpromisingly, with fifty pages devoted to the poetic artistry of Walt Whitman, which, as one might suspect, is completely irrelevant to the book's stated topic, whereupon follows a section almost as long devoted to internecine tactical disputes among nineteenth-century feminist leadership, which is, if anything, even less relevant. Had these fancies been resisted by author or editor, this would have been a relatively readable 300 page book instead of a 400 page groaner. When the author gets down to business, this is a pretty definitive delve into the subject of American sodomy legislation. The author is a better thinker than writer, though, and his verbosity makes this a difficult go; he never settles for one word show more when he can think of six, and piles example onto example when one or two would have done quite nicely. He comes to his task carrying a brief; indeed he wrote an amicus brief for the Supreme Court for consideration in the Lawrence case which overturned Texas' sodomy law at the turn of the century., and he states, albeit at book's end, that he wrote his book to persuade traditionalists that almost all legislation against sodomy is wrongheaded and counterproductive. His final chapter is an important meditation on the intersection of public opinion with legislative and judicial measures . One does, however, need to come to this with considerable persistence and a high degree of interest in the topic. show less

While I was familiar with the decisions in Hardwick, Romer and Laurence this nuanced history of the cases and their social and historical contexts gave me great perspective on them and on their current analogs. Also, while perhaps not as viscerally satisfying, I appreciate the humanity brought to those on both sides, instances of really evil people in this history are rare.