In 2011, the federal and state governments showed an increasing reliance on social science research when debating and creating policies and laws about gender identity and sexual orientation issues. Research played an important role in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and is informing the ongoing attempts to overthrow the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In addition, legislators in the Northeast cited economic studies during public deliberations about extending legal rights such as marriage to same-sex couples.
Much of the scholarship on these issues comes out of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA’s School of Law, where CPPA Director M. V. Lee Badgett also serves as research director. This recent Out in Jersey article highlights how the work of researchers from the Williams Institute and other think tanks is informing gender identity and sexual orientation policies across the country and diplomacy around the globe.