The US Supreme Court has struck down sodomy laws that make it a crime for people of the same sex to engage in "deviate sexual intercourse" a ruling that gives gay rights advocates a major victory.
By a 6-3 vote, the nation's highest court ruled a Texas law violated constitutional privacy rights.
The ruling will invalidate sodomy laws that exist in 13states.
The 30-year-old Texas "homosexual conduct" law makes it a crime for same-sex couples to engage in "deviate sexual intercourse" even if it is consensual and occurs in the privacy of a person's bedroom.
Violators face a maximum punishment of a $500 fine.
Besides Texas, the other states affected are Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
The case involved two men found engaged in sexual intercourse after police entered an apartment in Houston in 1998 while following up a false report of a disturbance with a gun.
The men were arrested and charged with violating the Texas law and were fined $200 each. They later challenged the law's constitutionality.
The ruling came down on the last day of the court's2002-2003 term.