In the eight years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may not criminalize private homosexual conduct, courts and legislatures across the country have struggled to define gay rights.

The debate changed for both sides after a watershed 2003 Supreme Court ruling in a case that originated in Houston. The court voted 6-3 to guarantee privacy rights for gay men and lesbians - reversing a 1986 decision that permitted states to outlaw homosexual acts, even in homes.

The Houston man at the center of the groundbreaking decision died last month of a heart condition. John Geddes Lawrence was 68.

When the Supreme Court considers whether gays and lesbians have a right to marry, Lawrence's lawyer says, Lawrence v. Texas will be a factor.

"It has implications throughout the country for marriage, for employment issues, for a wide range of opportunities for GLBT people to become equal in our society," said Mitchell Katine, the attorney. "And none of that would have happened nearly as quickly as it has if John and Tyrone hadn't stood up for what was done to them."

A false report

In 1998, Lawrence and Tyrone Garner were arrested for violating state sodomy laws by police who came to Lawrence's home in response to a false report of a gunman.

Police said they found the men having sex and arrested both for violating a law that forbade sexual acts between same-gender couples in Texas, even in private. The pair spent several hours in jail before posting $200 bond.

"He was angry at how he was treated, both physically and personally - he was taken to jail in the middle of the night in his underwear," Katine said.

The decision was important for advancement of civil rights for gay people, Katine said.

"John never got discouraged, and he always felt that in the end he would be vindicated, and he was right," Katine said.

Within months of the decision, courts in other states began to issue rulings that paved the way for legalizing gay marriage.

Scant notice

Although Lawrence was an icon in Houston's gay and lesbian community, his death and funeral passed without much attention. He was buried in Silsbee on Nov. 23. Katine found out about Lawrence's death Saturday from Lawrence's partner, Jose Garcia.

"We had a good time, we shared a lot of things, and those memories will stay with me for the rest of my life," Garcia said.

He said the holiday season, which Lawrence celebrated with gusto, has been tough. "Christmas is really hard for me this year."

Ray Hill, a longtime Houston activist for gay rights, worked with Lawrence and Katine on the machinations of getting the case to the country's highest court.

"John was a gay vet - he had been a corpsman in the military so he worked as a lab technician," Hill said. "He was completely unassuming, but he was seriously pissed off about how he was treated."

He said Lawrence and Garner were bewildered about being thrown into a high-profile case.

"If John had not been pressed into the situation, he wouldn't have been an advocate or pushed it at all," Hill said. "But he had the courage to go through with it."

'Vindicated'

A year after the decision, Lawrence told the Houston Chronicle he was proud of it.

"I got a sense of justice for being wronged by the state of Texas," Lawrence said. "I feel I've been vindicated."

Garner died of meningitis in 2006, three years after the decision in Lawrence's case.

Katine lamented the loss of Lawrence and Garner.

"With both of our clients gone now, it's now kind of fading into history."

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