What is Precedent

In the past few decades, the question of whether and how civil society should recognize committed intimate relationships between two people of the same sex has become a prominent and divisive policy issue. Marriage as an institution embodies both formal legally enforceable rules and informal arrangements. This chapter discusses the heightened lawmaking efforts after the legalization of same-sex marriage by legislators who are more inclined to use religious claims in their opposition to homosexuality and same-sex relationships.