Final answer:
Yes, consenting adults do have the constitutional right to engage in homosexual acts within the privacy of their homes, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in the Lawrence v. Texas decision, which recognized the right to privacy and personal liberty under the Constitution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Do consenting adults have the constitutional right to engage in homosexual acts in the privacy of their homes? The answer is Yes. The right to privacy and the personal liberty to engage in consensual sexual acts between adults in private is protected under the Constitution as confirmed by the landmark case, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). This ruling explicitly overturned previous decisions, such as the 1986 case Bowers v. Hardwick, and invalidated state laws that criminalized sodomy, thereby acknowledging that the government cannot intervene in the private sexual conduct of consenting adults.
The decision in Lawrence v. Texas marked a significant step towards LGBTQ civil rights, impacting various aspects of life including same-sex marriage, military service, and more. It established that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides persons the liberty to engage in their conduct without undue government intervention. The Supreme Court's majority opinion stated, "The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime." Thus, consenting adults do have the constitutional right to engage in homosexual acts within the privacy of their homes without fear of legal repercussion.