In a symbolic gesture of gratitude to the U.S. Supreme Court for striking down a Texas law that banned gay sex acts, San Francisco gay leaders took down the huge rainbow flag that permanently graces the corner of Market and Castro streets and hoisted the Stars and Stripes.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling knocks down Texas' "homosexual conduct" law, which bans oral or anal sex between same-gender partners and was used to arrest a male couple in their home in 1998. Although only 13 states still have sodomy laws, the reason gay leaders say the Supreme Court decision is so important is that those states often used those laws to label gay men and women as criminals and then prevent them from doing things such as adopting children or obtaining jobs and housing.

"Two years ago, we had a case of a lesbian woman in Alabama and the court ruled that because she was in a relationship with a woman, and therefore presumably violating the anti-sodomy law, she was a criminal and unfit to have custody of her children," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

A few years ago, a Georgia waitress was handed a pink slip that described her transgression as "being gay," said Daniel Zingale, secretary of Gov. Gray Davis' Cabinet and the state's highest ranking gay official.

"Sexual orientation is not yet included in federal employment nondiscrimination law, and now, after this ruling, it can't be far behind," Zingale said.

Thursday's ruling means the remaining sodomy laws in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia are no longer valid, Kendell said. It also means she's going to go back over the cases her organization lost due to sodomy laws and see if they can be overturned.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said the ruling opens the door to legitimizing gay marriage. His concerns echo conservatives who have religious objections to same-sex couplings.