Same‐sex marriage and the public policy process

Abstract

AbstractHow did same‐sex marriage come to be adopted as public policy in the United States? In this expository essay, I draw on multiple streams, social construction, and punctuated equilibrium theories to analyze the changes in policy definition, policy venue, the focusing events, indicators, and feedback which led to the placement of same‐sex marriage on the institutional agenda of the Supreme Court. I conclude that same‐sex marriage represents the policy solution to the problem of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) inequality which corresponded best with the political environment in the United States at the time of its endorsement by the Supreme Court. By synthesizing the social construction literature and critiques of same‐sex marriage derived from queer theory, however, I highlight the consequences of forgoing policy alternatives in favor of same‐sex marriage for LGBT people who do not fit dominant constructions of sexual minority identity.