Hawaiian Sen. Mazie K. Hirono is one of a handful of Democratic lawmakers supporting a bill that would prevent unwarranted state intrusion into personal decisions by adult couples regarding consensual sexual relationships.
Hirono argued the Right to Private Conduct Act is needed given some of the recent actions taken by the high court, according to a press release.
“As the far-right majority on the Supreme Court works to overturn fundamental rights, this legislation will protect the right to privacy for consenting adults,” Hirono said in the release.
The legislation is intended to protect sexual privacy rights as established in the landmark Lawrence v. Texas ruling, which Long touted as a major victory for civil rights. Before the ruling, sodomy laws enabled members of the community and law enforcement to report suspected sexual activity. The LGBTQ community was disproportionately targeted and prevented access to a number of things including employment, housing and parental rights.
Among the lawmakers joining Hirono in introducing the Right to Private Conduct Act were U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Katie Porter (D-CA) and Dwight Evans (D-PA), and Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).