Tex. Codes » Penal Code · TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON · CHAPTER 21. SEXUAL OFFENSES
Texas Codes

Tex. Penal Code § 21.06 (2026)

Homosexual Conduct

✓ current as of May 2026
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Section 21.06 was declared unconstitutional by Lawrence v. Texas, 123 S.Ct. 2472.


Sec. 21.06. HOMOSEXUAL CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 52 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003).
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Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). · cites it 7× “The applicable state law is Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.06 (a) (2003). It provides: "A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.”
Lawrence v. State, 41 S.W.3d 349 (Tex. App. 2001). · cites it 8× “" TEX. PEN.CODE ANN. § 21.06 (Vernon 1994).”
Karenev v. State, 281 S.W.3d 428 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “For example, the sodomy statute, TEX. PENAL CODE § 21.06, is still on the books some five years after Lawrence, but it is not and cannot be enforced.”
State v. Morales, 869 S.W.2d 941 (Tex. 1994). · cites it 2× “2 This is a constitutional challenge to TexPenal Code Ann. § 21.06 (Vernon 1989) (“21.”
Jegley v. Picado, 80 S.W.3d 332 (Ark. 2002). · cites it 2× “21 § 886(1983); Texas, Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 21.06 (1989). Nine states and Puerto Rico maintain statutes prohibiting same-sex and opposite-sex sodomy: Alabama-Ala.”
Martin v. Ziherl, 607 S.E.2d 367 (Va. 2005). · cites it 2× “Lawrence had been convicted of violating a Texas statute that made it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct described as the act of sodomy.”
Skinner v. State, 956 S.W.2d 532 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). “1982)(sodomy in heterosexual marriages no longer illegal after passage of TexPenal Code § 21.06 in 1974). In any event, appellant’s ex-wife testified that she repeatedly refused his requests, thus no acts were ever committed.”
State v. Romano, 155 P.3d 1102 (Haw. 2007). · cites it 2× “2472 (quoting Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.06 (a) (2003)).”
Carlos Diaz De Leon, Daniel Marquez, Kimo Sylva & Gabriel Morales v. City of El Paso, Texas & Officer Rodriguez-Aceves, 353 S.W.3d 285 (Tex. App. 2011). · cites it 4× “” Appellants alleged in their petition that Rodriguez-Aceves violated their right to equal treatment under Texas Constitution Article I, § 3, and caused them mental anguish by: (1) publicly humiliating them and treating them like criminals, on the basis of their sexual…”
Thigpen v. Carpenter, 730 S.W.2d 510 (Ark. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “1977) defines her conduct as "sodomy," and Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 21.06 (Vernon 1974) labels that activity "homosexual conduct.”
Gay Student Servs., J.M. Minton, Keith Stewart & Patricia Wooldridge v. Texas a & M Univ., 737 F.2d 1317 (5th Cir. 1984). · cites it 2× “Sherri Skinner, the District Court also found that GSS was a fraternal group that was “not trying to convey any message about homosexuality” 9 because it was “not organized for political advocacy” and had “no official position regarding repeal of Tex.Penal Code Ann., § 21.06;…”
Baker v. Wade, 553 F. Supp. 1121 (N.D. Tex. 1982). · cites it 2× “23(b)(2), consisting of “all district, county and city attorneys in the State of Texas responsible for the enforcement of Texas Penal Code Ann. § 21.06.” After the State of Texas intervened, the parties agreed that such a defendant class was proper.”
Show all 52 citing cases →
Tex. Penal Code § 21.06(a): 13 cases
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). “The applicable state law is Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.06 (a) (2003). It provides: "A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.”
United States v. Donald Eugene Colyer, 571 F.2d 941 (5th Cir. 1978).
Carlos Diaz De Leon, Daniel Marquez, Kimo Sylva & Gabriel Morales v. City of El Paso, Texas & Officer Rodriguez-Aceves, 353 S.W.3d 285 (Tex. App. 2011). “” Appellants alleged in their petition that Rodriguez-Aceves violated their right to equal treatment under Texas Constitution Article I, § 3, and caused them mental anguish by: (1) publicly humiliating them and treating them like criminals, on the basis of their sexual…”
Pruitt v. State, 272 So. 3d 732 (Ala. Crim. App. 2018).
Williams v. State, 184 So. 3d 1064 (Ala. Crim. App. 2015).
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