Same-Sex Marriage and the States: Policy and its Determinants

Abstract

Same-sex marriage has become one of the most discussed and most quickly evolving political issues of the past two decades, partly due to rapid changes in public opinion and increasing gay rights-related action on both sides of the political aisle. Though national interest is substantial, marriage has traditionally been regulated by the states, resulting in unequal rights and privileges for homosexual couples across states. The short amount of time in which allowances of same-sex marriage have been adopted makes it difficult to determine which factors contribute most heavily to state marriage policy preferences, but institutional attributes may help explain this process. Types of courts, partisanship configurations within state legislatures, and the availability of direct democracy mechanisms impact state marriage policy to varying degrees, especially when regional and ideological trends are taken into account. In tracking similarities between states that have adopted same-sex marriage policy, it may be possible to predict the future preferences of other states.