Romer has been called a "great enigma" because the Court did not lay out any clear-cut test for analyzing claims of sexual orientation discrimination. Some thought the decision might be limited to its facts. Others, such as Nan D. Hunter, however, argued that Romer stood for much more, and at the very least it seriously undermined Bowers. The Court proved them right when it reversed Bowers and struck down all sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). The Court said the "foundations of Bowers have sustained serious erosion from our recent decisions in Casey [a right to privacy case on abortion] and Romer."

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court next relied on Romer in its historic same-sex marriage decision (Goodridge v. Dep't of Health [2003]). Quoting Romer, the court concluded, "Like Amendment 2 to the Constitution of Colorado, which effectively denied homosexual persons equality under the law and full access to the political process, the marriage restriction impermissibly 'identifies persons by a single trait and then denies them protection across the board.'"

The sentiment of Romer is clearly supportive of lesbian and gay civil rights, even if the test the Court used to reach its decision is somewhat ill defined. Courts have picked up on that sentiment and now use Romer to require equal treatment in realms far removed from the facts of the case.

Conclusion

What accounts for the Supreme Court's dramatic shift in attitude toward lesbians and gay men? Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times has suggested "it could be that webs of personal association and experience have led the justices to see old problems in new ways." The world around them has changed. She says the Court "has become a gay-friendly workplace where employees feel sufficiently comfortable in their open identity to bring their partners to court functions."

Some of the justices now meet frequently with judges in Europe and elsewhere, and these meetings have also influenced their view of gay civil rights. In particular, according to Greenhouse, "[e]xtensive foreign travel has made both Justice Kennedy and Justice O'Connor more alert to how their peers on other constitutional courts see similar issues." European courts have issued many positive gay rights rulings, and one of them was relied on by Justice Kennedy in Lawrence.

Greenhouse sees the Court's evolution as "a reminder that even in late middle age, people are open to new ideas." Yet she concedes, "not everyone responds to change in the same way." Referring to Lawrence and other cases, she observes: "It was as if [Justice Scalia] and Justice Kennedy, born within four months of each other 67 years ago, both Roman Catholic, both Harvard Law School graduates, both elevated to the court within 15 months by President Ronald Reagan, were speaking from parallel universes."

Indeed they are, and fortunately it is Justice Kennedy's position on lesbian and gay civil rights that currently holds sway at the Court. He deserves much of the credit for the Court's seismic shift on this issue, and it all began with Romer. Andrew M. Jacobs rightly calls the victory in Romer "the culmination of . . . twenty five years of gay rights advocacy, as well as a milepost on a longer journey."

Anti-discrimination statutes and ordinances have made a real difference in the lives of millions of glbtq individuals.

Despite setbacks at various times, Denver's glbtq community has managed to thrive and currently enjoys relative acceptance in a state that is largely hostile to its existence.

The Gay Left refers to a cluster of positions on the political spectrum that has existed within the lesbian and gay rights movement at least since the Stonewall riots.

The U.S. gay rights movement has made significant progress toward achieving equality for glbtq Americans, and in the process has become more inclusive and diverse, but much remains to be done.

Lesbian and gay couples have been fighting for the freedom to marry since the dawn of the modern glbtq struggle for equality; despite some success abroad, progress toward same-sex marriage in the United States has been slow.

Sodomy laws, which provided the legal basis for police harassment of sexual minorities, were conclusively overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2003, after more than half a century of efforts at reform.

For more than four decades, the ACLU has been at the forefront of litigation and education designed to secure glbtq rights on a variety of fronts.

Award-winning television director Paris Barclay is also an activist for glbtq rights, including marriage equality and the opportunity to adopt children as he and his husband have done.

Two of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regarding constitutional liberty for glbtq people are Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) authorizes states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships or civil unions and it requires that federal bureaus and agencies recognize only opposite-sex marriages.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, in effect from 1993 until 2011, was a compromise intended to end discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the U. S. military, but it failed to halt discharges based solely on sexual orientation.

New England's leading legal organization dedicated to equal justice for glbtq individuals and families, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) provides litigation, advocacy, and educational work in all areas of glbtq civil rights.

Founder of the Gill Foundation, computer entrepreneur and philanthropist Tim Gill has used his wealth to benefit the glbtq community.