Could ALL men have anal sex with ANY woman?
There was no "unequal protection". All pairs of men and all pairs of women were prohibited from engaging in same sex sodomy.
Your interpretation of "equal protection" would legitimize same sex marriage.
Woah!
Where did I even mention "equal protection" much less interpret it? The majority USSC opinion rejected the equal protection argument in Lawrence v Texas.
Lawrence v Texas was badly decided on the right to liberty as protected by the 14th amendment -- but the right must be found fundamental (as abortion was) for this protection to apply, yet sodomy was not found by the USSC to be fundamental.
Yes, Justice Kennedy wrote about "privacy rights found within the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment". There are none, of course.
In Griswold v. Connecticut, the so-called "right to privacy" was found in penumbras of constitutional provisions other than the Due Process Clause, and that case expressly disclaimed any reliance on the doctrine of "substantive due process".