[aristeides]

It's all a house of cards built on prior decisions of the court. "Due process" in the 14th Amendment was taken to include a right to privacy, and that right to privacy has gradually been extended.

[ellery]

Yeah, you're right. We know that some things that go on behind closed doors will always be regulated/prohibited (murder, etc.)...so there needs to be a coherent standard for what behind-closed-doors activites should be regulated, and what activities should not. Right now, it seems to be up to judges' whims: if the standard is victimless activites by consenting adults, then drugs should be legalized, too, and prostitution, and on and on. But that's clearly NOT the standard across the board.

That's why we ought to return to fundamentals: all these issues should be the province of the states, as long as they don't violate the Constitution. Of course, that will never happen.