LITTLE ROCK, ARK. ? The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that a law barring sexual relations between people of the same gender was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.

The Legislature passed the law in 1977, and it apparently has never been used to prosecute anyone.

The seven plaintiffs challenged the law, though, because they didn’t want their conduct to be considered illegal, according to the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represented them.

“We agree that the police power may not be used to enforce a majority morality on persons whose conduct does not harm others,” the court said.

A judge had ruled in 2001 that the law was unconstitutional, but the state appealed. The Attorney General’s Office argued the Legislature should be allowed to consider moral judgments when creating laws.

The law carried a penalty of a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Arkansas was one of six states that criminalized gay sex between consenting adults. The others are Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.