On Wednesday, July 2, over 100 members of the local GLBT community gathered at the newly reopened Center to celebrate a historic Supreme Court decision. On Thursday, June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas, effectively admitting that it was wrong in its 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick ruling that states could regulate private consensual sex between adults.

The ruling could have far-reaching implications for the GLBT community and was widely celebrated across the country. The Center chose an informal gathering in its auditorium to mark the milestone in GLBT history.

“These are difficult times for us. With the administration that we currently have in office we have seen … our protections eroded … and it’s going to take some time to regain what we have lost,” said openly lesbian City Councilmember Toni Atkins, speaking to those assembled. “But last week we did have a victory; we had a victory in terms of our own civil rights. So we should not let time pass without recognizing that we have taken a huge step forward.”

Atkins lauded Chief Justice Anthony Kennedy’s strong support of equal privacy rights for gays and lesbians, but warned against likely backlash from the right wing.

“We know victories can be short-lived,” she continued. “We realize that, as we gain, as we take a step forward, that there are many people who want to push us three steps back…. So tonight we celebrate and tomorrow we go to work and keep moving forward.”

Delores Jacobs, executive director of The Center, cited the 400-year civil rights struggle of the African-American community as an example of how difficult and long the fight for equality can be.

“So what does that each us?” Jacobs asked. “It teaches us, 1) we can get there, and we’re going to get there in our lifetime, 2) that it takes everybody’s effort, and 3) we get few opportunities for celebration and need to do it often. This particular victory we need to celebrate tonight.”

Speaking with the Gay and Lesbian Times, several community members shared their reaction to the recent ruling, as well as recollections of the agonizing Bowers v. Hardwick defeat of 1986.

“It was probably the most important thing that’s happened,” said Chuck Zito, executive director of Diversionary Theatre. “I sent an e-mail to my family that night. I said, ‘You know, I’m so excited. As of today, for the first time in my adult life, I’m not a criminal anywhere in the United States, and it’s an amazing thing.’”

Zito said he was surprised by the scope of the ruling. “I figured that they would overturn the sodomy law, [but] I didn’t think they would take out such a big baseball bat and really whack at the privacy issue so thoroughly.... You know, Kennedy said that majority can’t legislate against something just because they don’t morally like it…. That changes everything for everyone.”

Professor Pat Washington said she was personally disappointed in the decision of Justice Clarence Thomas, who was one of the three dissenting opinions in the ruling. “I was very disappointed to see that … someone who should be sensitive to those issues … is still ruling against the rights of disenfranchised people,” she said.

Though Washington said she felt the ruling was “very exciting” and “a landmark decision,” she said she didn’t think it would take GLBT people quite as far as some might think. “That’s part of my ambivalence,” she said. “Some people are treating it as though we leaped ahead by a wide margin and I don’t think we necessarily did that. I just think we inched forward a little bit.”

“My partner and I have been together 46 years and we feel that it’s about time we have equal rights,” said Chuck Cotton, attending with his partner, Bud Metzger.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” added Cotton. “I’ll be surprised if we have gay marriage in the United States, because the religious right is so strong here…. I think that before Bush is out of office, he’ll probably have a couple more conservative justices, unless the Democrats filibuster and make sure that we get a couple of moderates in there.”

Doug Case, a member of the San Diego Democratic Club, recalled that he was attending a board meeting of the National Association of Fraternity Advisors when the Bowers ruling was handed down in ’86. Case, who was rooming with some other gay board members, recalled, “The decision was filled with Biblical references…. It felt as if someone had stabbed me in the heart.

“A lot of legal decisions quote the majority opinion in Hardwick over and over again,” Case noted. “That really has been a stumbling block to our advances. And that’s why it’s so great to hear Justice Kennedy say that Hardwick was wrong then and it’s wrong now.”

Atkins recalled that when Bowers was handed down she was living in Durham, North Carolina, the land of antigay, former Senator Jesse Helms.

Living with her partner at the time, Atkins spent her time volunteering at a women’s independent music label, Ladyslipper, and working on the campaign of Jim Hunt, who ran unsuccessfully against Helms. “We were not gaining ground…. I wanted to get out of there as quick as I could,” she recalled. “It was a difficult time.”

Aaron Borovoy also pointed to Wal-Mart’s recent decision to add gays and lesbians to their nondiscrimination policy. “That’s kind of a watershed moment,” said Borovoy, “because when it reaches Middle America Wal-Mart, it’s basically, at this point, on an unstoppable roll.”

The event ended with a toast, offered by The Center’s board president, Robert Gleason. After champagne and sparkling cider were passed around, Gleason toasted “to the past, in honor of all of the courageous men and women who have toiled for 30 plus years to get to this moment. To the present, where we build upon those accomplishments, and where we rededicate ourselves to advocating on behalf of all GLBT citizens. And to the future, where we will — in our lifetime — achieve full and equal human rights for our community.”