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Groundbreaking decisions on same-sex marriage, particularly those from the Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California supreme courts, have generated widespread political backlash in the form of state constitutional amendments and statutes, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), a proposed federal constitutional amendment, and more. By contrast, the first state supreme court decision to strike down a ban on interracial marriage - Perez v. Sharp, decided by the California Supreme Court in 1948 - was met with barely a political whimper, even though it made international headlines and came decades before broad public acceptance of interracial marriage. This Article identifies that puzzling difference, tells the political story of the cases, explores factors that might explain the disparity in political and public reactions, and uses the contrasting case studies to elucidate the political dynamics that surround courts today and to suggest directions for the future study of antijudicial backlash.
Other publications by this author
- Reaction: Splitting the Difference: Reflections on Perry v. Brown
- Cases and Materials on Sexual Orientation and the Law. 4th edition
- Cases and Materials on Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century, 4th edition, Supplement 2011
- Ely at the Altar: Political Process Theory Throughy the Lens of the Marriage Debate
- Capacity and Context: LGBT Rights and the Obama Administration's First Year
- The Other Same-Sex Marriage Debate
- Digitally Democratizing Congress? Technology and Political Accountability
- Cases and Materials on Sexual Orientation and the Law, 3rd ed.
- Unenumerated Democracy: Lessons from the Right to Vote
- Political Accountability, Proxy Accountability and the Democratic Legitimacy of Legislatures
Author
- Jane S. Schacter
- Stanford Law School
- schacter@law.stanford.edu
- 650 724.9492