Do Popular Votes on Rights Create Animosity Toward Minorities?

Abstract

We examine whether votes on minority rights make the public less sympathetic to the targeted group. Panel data are used to test whether votes on marriage changed public attitudes about gays and lesbians. We propose the marriage debate had a stigmatizing effect on attitudes about gays and lesbians in states where marriage was on the ballot. Results reveal a conditional relationship. Religious people in states where marriage was voted on had lower affect for gays and lesbians after the campaign. Independent of policy outcomes, subjecting a minority group to public judgment about rights may promote animus toward the group.