Great Chart! Gay Marriage Support Across The Nation

by: Curtis Abbey

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Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 17:00:44 PM CST

As a 18-29 year old in California, I'm a little surprised that we're 8th in the nation in that age group. But then again I was surprised when Prop 8 passed. My second thought it's nice to be on the top right of this chart but I'm not gonna be in this 18-29 category for too much longer. Does that mean I drop down and to the left on the chart or by that time will the 30-44 Californians move to the right?

Where are you on this chart, and are you hopeful or discouraged?

Crossposted to the Daily Kos

These charts come from a policy paper by Jeffrey R. Lax and Justin H. Phillips at Columbia in August of '09. It's pretty good stuff.

The rights of gays and lesbians, as part of the so-called "culture wars," lie at the heart of recent political conflict in the United States, perhaps even affecting the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. Battles over gay rights have been fought most intensely at the sub-national level-in legislatures, courtrooms, and direct democracy campaigns-yielding a complex policy mosaic. Some states have adopted numerous pro-gay policies; others have few or none. What explains this variation? In particular, significant controversy has arisen over the role of public opinion and how well opinion majorities are respected.

This evokes a basic tension in democratic theory. Functioning democracy requires some minimal matching of government choice to citizen preference. However, normative concerns quickly arise. Too little responsiveness calls democracy into question, whereas complete popular sovereignty raises the spectre of "tyranny of the majority." This is particularly true for civil rights because minorities might be unable to rectify grievances through electoral processes. A strong relationship
between public opinion and policy may suggest successful representative democracy, but still be troubling if it leads to fewer protections or rights for minorities.

I haven't read the whole thing yet, but pretty interesting so far. I've been running a mix of emotions since Maine dropped the ball on equality. Should I boycott Maine? Nah, then I'd have to boycott my own lousy state for it's voters. How should I deal with people who don't support gay marriage? I played golf with a guy last week and on the 17th hole he told me he was a devout Mormon and big supporter of Prop 8. I was stumped, should I call this guy a bigot because that's what I think he is. On the other hand, how's that going to convince him to change his mind or his level of activism? Is this the Progressive versus Liberal cognitive dissonance or something more basic than that? I want some people to be on our side or at least not stand in our way, but I sure as hell also want to write them off and scream bigot at each and every one.