Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T12:54:50.364Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Policy Diffusion as a Geographical Expansion of the Scope of Political Conflict: Same-Sex Marriage Bans in the 1990s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Donald P. Haider-Markel
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In 1996, more than half of the states considered legislation banning same-sex marriages. This article examines these events as a geographic expansion of the scope of the conflict rather than as traditional state-centered policy innovation. I argue that the diffusion of same-sex marriage bans was determined by the organized efforts of advocacy coalitions and internal state characteristics rather than by regional diffusion or communication among policy experts. I use state-level data collected from activists, media accounts, and official sources to establish the organized efforts to ban same-sex marriage. I then develop and empirically test a model of policy diffusion to predict both state consideration and adoption of policies banning same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the diffusion of these policies is best explained by the presence of an organized national campaign by conservative religious groups, the local resources of interest groups, and other internal state characteristics rather than by regional diffusion patterns. I also find that the influence of state characteristics may vary during the policymaking process.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , Spring 2001 , pp. 5 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association, 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, Barry D. 1995. The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement. Rev. ed. New York: Twayne Publishers.Google Scholar
Press, Associated. 1996. “Republicans Draft Bill to Outlaw Same Sex Marriage.” Lawrence Journal-World, May 8.Google Scholar
Press, Associated. 1998. “High Court Refuses Abortion Ban Case.” Lawrence Journal-World, March 24, p. 2A.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., and Jones, Bryan D. 1993. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Berry, Frances. 1994. “Sizing Up State Policy Innovation Research.” Policy Studies Journal 22(3):442–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, Frances, and Berry, William D. 1990. “State Lottery Adoptions as Policy Innovations: An Event History Analysis.” American Political Science Review 84(2):395–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, Frances, and Berry, William D. 1992. “Tax Innovation in the States: Capitalizing on Political Opportunity.” American Journal of Political Science 36(3):715–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, Frances Stokes, and Berry, William D. 1999. “Innovation and Diffusion Models In Policy Research.” In Theories of the Policy Process, ed. Sabatier, Paul E. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Berry, William D., Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science 42(1):327–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blomquist, William. 1999. “The Policy Process and Large-N Comparative Studies.” In Theories of the Policy Process, ed. Sabatier, Paul E. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Bradley, Martin B., Green, Norman M., Johnson, Dale E., Lynn, Mac, and McNeil, Lou. 1992. Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1990. Atlanta: Glenmary Research Center.Google Scholar
Dunlap, David W. 1996. “Gay Rights Advocates Question Effort to Defend Same-Sex Marriage.” The New York Times, June 7.Google Scholar
Fowler, Linda L., and Shaiko, Ronald G. 1987. “The Grass Roots Connection: Environmental Activists and Senate Roll Calls.” American Journal of Political Science 31(2):484–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. 1987. “Homosexuals and the Ku Klux Klan: A Contextual Analysis of Political Tolerance.” Western Political Quarterly 40(2):427–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glick, Henry R., and Hays, Scott P. 1991. “Innovation and Reinvention in State Policymaking: Theory and the Evolution of Living Will Laws.” Journal of Politics 53(4):835–850.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gray, Virginia. 1973. “Innovation in the States: A Diffusion Study.” American Political Science Review 67(4):1174–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Virginia, 1994. “Competition, Emulation and Policy Innovation.” In New Perspectives and American Politics, eds. Dodd, Lawrence C. and Jillson, Calvin. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Haider-Markel, Donald P. N.d. “AIDS and Gay Civil Rights: Politics and Policy at the Ballot Box.” American Review of Politics Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Haider-Markel, Donald P. 2000. “Lesbian and Gay Politics in the States: Interest Groups, Electoral Politics, and Public Policy.” In The Politics of Gay Rights, eds. Wald, Kenneth, Rimmerman, Craig, and Wilcox, Clyde. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Haider-Markel, Donald P., and Meier, Kenneth J. 1996. “The Politics of Gay and Lesbian Rights: Expanding the Scope of the Conflict.” Journal of Politics 58(2):332–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haider-Markel, Donald P., and Lake, Ronald La Due. 1998. “The Importance of Institutional Structures on Legislative Outcomes: Lessons from the American States.” Presented at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L., and Wayman, Frank W. 1990. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias on Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review 84(3):797–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hays, Scott P. 1996. “Patterns of Reinvention: The Nature of Evolution During Policy Diffusion.” Policy Studies Journal 24:551–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helco, Hugh. 1978. “Issue Networks and the Executive Establishment.” In The New American Political System, ed. King, Anthony. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M., and Dunk, Emily Van. 1993. “Electoral Competition in the American States.” American Political Science Review 87(4):955–962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hugick, Larry. 1992. “Public Opinion Divided on Gay Rights.” The Gallup Poll Monthly, June.Google Scholar
Hwang, Sung-Don, and Gray, Virginia. 1991. “External Limits and Internal Determinants of State Public Policy.” Western Political Quarterly 44(1):277–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Hans. 1996. Wedded to Intolerance. Washington, DC: Human Rights Campaign.Google Scholar
Key, V. O. 1964. Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups. 5th ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John. 1995. Agendas, Alternative, and Public Policies. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Kollman, Ken. 1998. Outside Lobbying: Public Opinion & Interest Group Strategies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Lang, Norris. 1989. “AIDS, Gays, and the Ballot Box.” Medical Anthropology 10(2):203–9.Google Scholar
Layman, Geoffrey C. 1999. “‘Culture Wars’ in the American Party System: Religious and Cultural Change Among Partisan Activists Since 1972.” American Politics Quarterly 27(1):89–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mapes, Lynda V. 1998. “House Passes Ban On Gay Marriage.” The Seattle Times, February 5.Google Scholar
Meier, Kenneth J. 1994. The Politics of Sin: Drugs, Alcohol and Public Policy. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Mintrom, Michael. 1997. “Policy Entrepreneurs and the Diffusion of Innovation.” American Journal of Political Science 41(3): 738–770.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintrom, Michael, and Vergari, Sandra. 1996. “Advocacy Coalitions, Policy Entrepreneurs, and Policy Change.” Policy Studies Journal 24(3):420–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintrom, Michael, and Vergari, Sandra. 1998. “Policy Networks and Innovation Diffusion: The Case of State Education Reforms.” Journal of Politics 60(1):126–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moe, Terry. 1990. “Political Institutions: The Neglected Side of the Story.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 6(2):213–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, Christopher Z., and Lee, Mei-Hsien. 1995. “Legislating Morality in the American States: The Case of Pre-Roe Abortion Regulation Reform.” American Journal of Political Science 39(3):599–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, Christopher Z., and Lee, Mei-Hsien. 1999. “The Temporal Diffusion of Morality Policy: The Case of Death Penalty Legislation in the American States.” Policy Studies Journal 27(4):766–780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, Christopher Z., and Lee, Mei-Hsien. 2000. “The Influence of Values on Consensus and Contentious Morality Policy: U.S. Death Penalty Reform, 1956-1982.” Journal of Politics 62(1):223–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, David W. 1993. “Public Polarized on Gay Issue.” The Gallop Poll Monthly, April.Google Scholar
National Rifle Association. 1999. Fact Sheet: The Right to Carry. Fairfax, VA: National Rifle Association.Google Scholar
Norrander, Barbara, and Wilcox, Clyde. 1999. “Public Opinion and Policymaking in the States: The Case of Post-Roe Abortion Policy.” Policy Studies Journal 27(4):707–722.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Persinos, John F. 1994. “Has the Christian Right Taken Over the Republican Party?” Campaigns and Elections. September.Google Scholar
Pierce, Patrick A., and Miller, Donald E. 1999. “Variations in the Diffusion of State Lottery Adoptions: How Revenue Dedication Changes Morality Politics.” Policy Studies Journal 27(4):696–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polsby, Nelson. 1984. Political Innovation in America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabe, Barry G. 2000. “Power to the States: The Promise and Pitfalls of Decentralization.” In Environmental Policy, 4th ed., eds. Vig, Norman J. and Kraft, Michael E. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Risen, James, and Thomas, Judy L. 1998. Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul A., and Jenkins-Smith, Hank C., eds. 1993. Policy Change and Learning: An Advocacy Coalition Approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Sabatier, Paul A., and Jenkins-Smith, Hank C. 1999. “The Advocacy Coalition Framework: An Assessment.” In Theories of the Policy Process, ed. Sabatier, Paul E. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Savage, Robert L. 1978. “Policy Innovativeness as a Trait of American States.” Journal of Politics 40(1):212–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seltzer, Richard. 1993. “AIDS, Homosexuality, Public Opinion, and Changing Correlates Over Time.” Journal of Homosexuality 26(1):85–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schattschneider, E.E. 1960. The Semi-Sovereign People. New York: Holt, Reinhardt and Winston.Google Scholar
Sullivan, John L., Piereson, James E., and Marcus, George E. 1982. Political Tolerance and American Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, Mark, ed. 1994. The Long Road to Freedom. New York: St. Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Trounstine, Philip J. 1997. “Poll Shows Gay-Rights Support; Exception: Same-Sex Marriages.” San Jose Mercury News. March 3.Google Scholar
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Various years. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.Google Scholar
Walker, Jack. 1969. “The Diffusion of Innovations Among the American States.” American Political Science Review 68(3):880–899.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, Martin. 1996. “Gays Inch Up the Aisle.” The Guardian, April.Google Scholar
Wilcox, Clyde. 1992. God's Warriors: The Christian Right in Twentieth-Century America. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Yang, John E. 1996. “House Bill to Stop Gay Marriages Has Stormy Start.” The Washington Post. June 13.Google Scholar