Variables Which Influence the Early State Adoption of Pro-LGBT Legislation

ABSTRACT

State-level legislation was instrumental in achieving marriage equality and is similarly crucial in establishing protection from discrimination for LGBT employees. States that were early legalizers of same-gender marriage shared geographic, political, and demographic variables. An analysis of the characteristics of states that are early adopters of legislation prohibiting LGBT employment discrimination lacks in the literature. This study analyzed variables significant to the early state adoption of legislation prohibiting discrimination against LGBT employees using multinomial logistic regression. A state’s region, the size of its urban population, college graduates, and the percentage of same-gender families were among nine variables significant to state adoption of anti-discrimination statutes protecting LGBT employees. Efforts to secure protection from discrimination for LGBT employees should focus on fair working conditions for all as opposed to specific rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Further, different LGBT rights issues may warrant different strategies for public support.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBT policy
• employment discrimination
• same-gender marriage
• demographic characteristics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Nebraska has a Republican governor, a unicameral and non-partisan legislature, and was coded with a “0.”