Refiguring the Family

Abstract

In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that samesex couples are entitled to equal marriage rights. Later the following year, voter initiatives designed to ban same-sex marriage were passed in 11 state ballots throughout the United States, and pundits declared that a sizeable proportion of George W. Bush’s support for the presidency came from ‘values voters’ who saw gay marriage as a threat. Bush and Republican members of Congress proposed a federal Constitutional Amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. The Massachusetts decision has deeply divided the United States.