this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2025
46 points (100.0% liked)

askchapo

23239 readers
226 users here now

Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.

Rules:

  1. Posts must ask a question.

  2. If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.

  3. Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.

  4. Try !feedback@hexbear.net if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
PorkrollPosadist@hexbear.net
replaceable@hexbear.net
VILenin@hexbear.net
SexUnderSocialism@hexbear.net
khizuo@hexbear.net
Wakmrow@hexbear.net
46
How was the movement for legalizing gay marriage in the US organized? (hexbear.net)
submitted 5 months ago by Owl@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
13 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

All the other times I can think of that people won rights in this country, it was because people radicalized their churches or unions and then linked them up into a movement.

But when I try to look up how gay marriage happened, I'm finding things crediting liberal organizations or important lawyers, if it's not just passive voice implying the states just started legalizing gay marriage for no particular reason.

So like... what was the actual organizing principle behind that? Who did the pressuring? I figured a bunch of you would know, so I'm asking.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] LangleyDominos@hexbear.net 26 points 5 months ago (1 children)

David Geffen threw a bunch of money at it in CA and once the legality was worked out there it was easier to do in other states. Top liberal politicians were against it out of fear it would hurt them with conservatives. Obamna refused to say he supported it until it had traction. Hillary was saying marriage is between a man and a woman on CSPAN during the Bush admin. You can find a video of it with Neera Tanden sitting behind her. One it took off they came around to support it. So it was a grassroots thing with wealthy people in California backing it.

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The big thing I always point to is that it took dragging the Democrats left, kicking and screaming to get it through. And even then it had to be done through the courts not the legislature, which the Democrats then immediately gave up nationally to the Republicans.

[–] LangleyDominos@hexbear.net 9 points 5 months ago

It's hard to appreciate how jarring it was/is to go from all these liberal darlings flat out refusing to accept gay marriage to being slay qween gay icons somehow. But they took so much credit for it and today maintain that it was all them. These fuckers have the audacity to put rainbow lights on the White House now like they're not internally cringing at the thought. It's not easy to say this but I kinda wish we had the social media and smart phones we have now because the receipts would be incredible. It's like Iraq War support but somehow more memory-holed.