With the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States instead of Judge Merrick Garland, and with the possibility of another Trump Supreme Court nomination at some point down the road, it is useful to reflect on the history of homosexuality in Western culture and on the pivotal role the Supreme Court has played in helping to shape our nation’s laws in this regard.

The plain and simple fact is that, with two Trump appointments to the Supreme Court, should that come to pass, we can expect significant changes in the way the Court approaches the rights of gays and lesbians in the future. Before we get to that point, it is important to understand how we got to where we are today. It is only with that understanding that we can truly comprehend the magnitude of the challenge ahead. In my first two pieces in this series (which I have decided to expand to four posts rather than three), I discussed the history of homosexuality from the ancient world through the 1990s. See part 1 and part 2.

In this, the third piece in the series, I will discuss the role of the Supreme Court in addressing the constitutionality of laws making sodomy a criminal offense. Each of these posts, I should note, is drawn in part from my forthcoming book, Sex and the Constitution. I hope you will find this history instructive.

Read more at Huffington Post