Ten years ago this month, the Supreme Court in the US state of Massachusetts effectively legalised gay marriage when it ruled that a legislative ban on same-sex unions was unconstitutional.

The court’s decision proved a political headache for the Democratic Party candidate John Kerry when he ran against President George W. Bush the following year.

It mobilised religious conservatives, whose votes helped re-elect Bush, especially in the crucial swing state of Ohio.

But in just eight years, the issue has gone from a political kiss of death — with the support of only about 30 per cent of Americans — to something that, if not a vote winner, will not kill off a candidacy, as Barack Obama proved in 2012.

The US writer Jonathan Rauch — in Australia recently to participate in the Public Knowledge Forum run by the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney — explains this turnaround in public sentiment to Andrew West.

Listen to the audio here

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“A Gay Awakening” by Jonathan Rauch, American Review, November 2013

Presenter: Andrew West
Publication: ABC Religion and Ethics Report
Date: 27 November 2013