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WASHINGTON - November 23 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today celebrates a 6-1 vote by the Georgia Supreme Court to repeal that state's sodomy law. The Court ruled that the law violates the Georgia Constitution's guarantee of a right to privacy.

"Sodomy laws are the linchpin in attacks against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community," said Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "They are used to criminalize our behavior and are the basis for discrimination in employment, housing, health care and against families. We applaud the Court for its vote today and also salute the tireless work of Georgia activists who have helped change the climate in the state."

The Georgia law has been the basis of two U.S. Supreme Court cases. The first was the landmark Bowers v. Hardwick in 1986, when it found no constitutional right to privacy for same-gender conduct. And earlier this year, the Court refused to hear the case of attorney Robin Shahar, whose job offer from then-Attorney General Michael Bowers was rescinded after discovering she was planning a commitment ceremony with her partner. Bowers claimed her lesbian relationship violated the Georgia sodomy law, which he himself defended in Bowers v. Hardwick.

"We must be vigilant not only in the passage of civil rights laws, but also in the repeal of sodomy laws,' continued Lobel. 'Even though they are rarely enforced, they are frequently used as the basis for other forms of discrimination Ð in the workplace, in the schools, and with the custody of our children."

With the Georgia law now invalid, thirty-one states and the District of Columbia will have no laws forbidding same gender sexual relations. Of the nineteen states that will have sodomy laws in place, six stateÕs laws apply only to same-gender activity - Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Maryland. Thirteen other states have an opposite and same-gender sodomy law - Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota.

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Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has worked to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people at the local, state and national level since its inception in 1973. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society.