Bloomberg - Eleven years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry, the Supreme Court has now extended that right nationwide. The decision came after a wave of gay marriage legalization: 28 states from 2013 to 2015, with 36 overall prior to the Court's ruling. Such widespread acceptance in a short amount of time isn't a phenomenon unique to gay marriage. Social change in the U.S. appears to follow a pattern: A few pioneer states get out front before the others, and then a key event—often a court decision or a grassroots campaign reaching maturity—triggers a rush of state activity that ultimately leads to a change in federal law.
We looked at six big issues—interracial marriage, prohibition, women’s suffrage, abortion, same-sex marriage, and recreational marijuana — to show how this has happened in the past, and may again in the very near future. CLICK FOR SOME GREAT CHARTS
1 comment:
I have to hit the game show buzzer. Bloomberg Bidness does not account for the rise and fall of rights for black people. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 have not proved as durable as one would suppose, based on the chart. Is this a class or racial issue? The prison state offers both political and financial advantages to overlords, as does butchering of suffrage.
Also: unequal pay for women.
Yes, change comes to America's 18th century political structure with some lag, but only on some things and, as monarchs can do, sometimes it changes its mind.
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