The CAN law in North Carolina, even after the Lawrence decision, is the single largest obstacle to full civil rights for lesbians and gay men. Not only does the CAN law as it is written invade fundamental, Constitutionally protected privacy, it also makes discrimination against gay men and lesbians appear to some people to be sanctioned by the state.

Even more disturbing and detrimental is the belief that the CAN law requires discrimination against lesbians and gay men. Some landlords have refused to rent to gay couples to avoid "aiding and abetting a felony." The Associated Students of Duke University was told in 1983 that the university could run afoul of the CAN law if the charter of Duke’s Gay and Lesbian Alliance allowed for social activities. No one has ever been charged with aiding and abetting a CAN for allowing gay people to associate with one another, but the law still makes life more difficult even for lesbian and gay North Carolinians who are unlikely to ever face arrest for CAN or SOLCAN.

Although the cases are absolutely clear that the CAN statute applies equally to heterosexual and homosexual activity, many politicians discuss the law as though it applies only to homosexual acts. In 1993, for example, Sen. Robert Shaw of Greensboro introduced a bill that would have prohibited teachers in sex education classes from including information about "sexual practices that are not lawful in North Carolina," and public statements by the bill’s supporters said that the CAN statutes makes homosexual acts illegal, never mentioning that it likewise makes the same acts by heterosexuals illegal. In 1999, Bill James filed a complaint with the Judicial Standards Commission against openly gay Superior Court Judge Ray Warren on the basis of presumed CAN law violations. The CAN law has thus provided convenient cover for those who wish to make life difficult for gay men and lesbians.