The Kansas Supreme Court says the state can't impose harsher punishment for illegal underage sex if it involves homosexual conduct. The case decided today has been watched closely by national groups on both sides of the gay rights debate.

In the unanimous decision the court sided with convicted sex
offender Matthew Limon. Four years ago he got a sentence of 17 years and two months in prison for a sex act with a 14-year-old boy. Had the juvenile been a girl, Limon's maximum sentence would have been only 15 months.

The high court ordered that Limon be resentenced as if the law treated illegal gay sex and illegal heterosexual sex the same. It struck language from the law that resulted in the different treatment of Limon, who was 18 at the time of the offense.