Gay Rights Activist. A key figure in a landmark civil rights case in the United States. In 1998 Garner and John Lawrence were arrested and charged with breaking Texas' Homosexual Conduct Law. They pleaded no contest and eventually appealed to the US Supreme Court. In its landmark June 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court said that what gay men and women do in the privacy of their bedrooms is their business and not the government's. The decision invalidated laws in Texas and 12 other states. It also galvanized an ongoing national debate over whether homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals when it comes to marriage and adoption. Garner once said, "I don't really want to be a hero, but I want to tell other gay people 'Be who you are, and don't be afraid'". He died from meningitis in Houston, Texas.
Gay Rights Activist. A key figure in a landmark civil rights case in the United States. In 1998 Garner and John Lawrence were arrested and charged with breaking Texas' Homosexual Conduct Law. They pleaded no contest and eventually appealed to the US Supreme Court. In its landmark June 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court said that what gay men and women do in the privacy of their bedrooms is their business and not the government's. The decision invalidated laws in Texas and 12 other states. It also galvanized an ongoing national debate over whether homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals when it comes to marriage and adoption. Garner once said, "I don't really want to be a hero, but I want to tell other gay people 'Be who you are, and don't be afraid'". He died from meningitis in Houston, Texas.
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
Advertisement
