On Election Day 2012 voters in three
states—Maryland, Maine, and Washington—went far beyond civil unions and
supported marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Voters in Minnesota
rejected a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between one
man and one woman. These victories mark a dramatic shift in public support for
gay and lesbian equality—all in a little more than a decade since Vermont
passed its civil unions bill.
What changed?
Let’s start with the voters. One reason marriage
equality is becoming a winning issue is because young people support it. As
they turn 18 and start voting, their views are shifting the political conversation
and election landscape. As young people become a larger part of the electorate,
support for marriage equality is likely to become the norm. But it’s not just
the youth vote that’s driving change. A recent report, “The Big Shift,” by the
think tank Third Way, finds that three-quarters of the change in attitude over
the past seven years came from Americans of all ages, including older voters.
The culture has also shifted. As more gay and
transgender Americans have come out to their families, friends, and co-workers,
they have rebutted stereotypes and rigid notions of what it means to be gay.
Hollywood—never a leader in cultural trends but eager to be a close
follower—has noted this growing acceptance and begun adding openly gay
characters to programming. According to a recent report by the Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation, 4.4 percent of recurring characters on TV shows
this season are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender—a record high. And an
October poll by The Hollywood Reporter found that voters increasingly support
marriage equality, with 27 percent saying that “gay TV” shows such as Glee and
Modern Family influenced their views.
The laws have changed too. Four years after Vermont
legalized civil unions, the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same-sex
marriage. Although public opinion was trending toward support of civil unions,
the Massachusetts ruling seemed to many a step too far. This fear seemed to
come true when conservative lawmakers introduced 11 state bans on same-sex
marriage that year—and won them all.
Even so, one state after another followed
Massachusetts, legalizing marriage equality through their legislatures or
courts. By 2011 same-sex marriage was legal in six states and Washington, D.C.
Not until November 6, however, were supporters of marriage equality able to win
through the ballot box. Thirty-two ballot initiatives had previously been
rejected by voters, and that failure became a conservative talking point. But
when the people spoke this November, they said yes.
It’s important to note that many of the people who
voted “yes” on marriage equality are religious. Whether straight or gay, they
are doing what opponents say is impossible: reconciling their faith with
marriage equality and discarding theological beliefs that teach that
homosexuality is sinful and unnatural.
Progress within religious institutions and faith
communities has moved at an uneven pace. Some of the biggest changes have come
about because gay and transgender people refused to abandon their religion. Instead
they steadfastly claimed their faith and added new dimensions to old texts and
beliefs. Groups such as Dignity USA in the Catholic Church, Integrity USA in
the Episcopal Church, Keshet in the Jewish community, More Light Presbyterians,
Al-Fatiha Foundation in the Muslim community, and many others have prodded
their institutions to a broader understanding of God’s love and God’s creation
of human beings who are gay and straight.
More houses of worship are displaying rainbow
banners to welcome all people, no matter their sexual orientation or gender
identity. Just as importantly, faith leaders are increasingly speaking out in
support of gay and transgender equality as a core moral issue—and they are
pushing back against opponents who have used religion as a weapon to demonize
gay people and deny them justice and equality.
When it comes to marriage, many religious leaders
are making the clear distinction between marriage as a civil matter and
marriage as a religious ceremony. Marriage equality laws pertain to civil
marriage. Written into these laws are strong First Amendment protections so
that clergy and religious leaders who object to performing wedding ceremonies
for same-sex couples are not required to do so.
In a new book, God Believes in Love, Bishop Gene
Robinson—the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church—addresses
religious and cultural concerns about same-sex marriage and makes a strong
biblical case for it. He tackles the seven passages in the Bible that are
always used to condemn homosexuality, offering fresh interpretations that take
into account the culture of the time and the context of the writer. Beyond
that, Robinson argues that God is still speaking, revealing new truths and
understanding today. He offers as examples the use of scripture in the past to
justify slavery and to subjugate women—but belief is not static, and religious
institutions now know they were wrong on these two issues.
The interplay among culture, laws, and religion is
not easy to untangle. Changed hearts and minds prompt new laws. At the same
time new laws shift the norm, changing hearts and minds. We can see this
interplay with marriage equality. After same-sex marriage was legalized, the
sky did not fall. The earth did not spin off its axis. Nor was heterosexual marriage
destroyed. Instead more people who love one another got married, and something
that had seemed strange or fearful began to seem normal. As the cultural and
political embrace of marriage equality continues to grow, look for more state
victories in coming years.
About the author: Sally Steenland is Director of the
Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress.
Steenland, a best-selling author, former newspaper columnist, and teacher,
explores the role of religion and values in the public sphere.
This article was published by the Center for
American Progress.
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