The late Justice Antonin Scalia, whose influence can still be felt throughout the American judiciary, once mocked the idea that the Constitution protects the right of adults to masturbate in private.

In a dissent from a Supreme Court decision declaring that private consensual homosexual conduct is constitutionally protected, he paraded out the horrible consequences that would inevitably flow from this libertarian ruling: the striking down of “state laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery fornication, bestiality and obscenity… ”

What legitimate interest would any state have in criminalizing masturbation — or for that matter fornication or adultery between or among consenting adults? The fact remains, however, that these private acts were... Read More