Diffusing Change: LGBTQ+ Policy Dynamics across U.S. States

• In Event: Diffusion of Policy and People across the United States

Abstract

In this paper, I study the diffusion of LGBTQ+ policies in the American states. Recent years have seen exponential growth in the number of policy proposals and adoptions both expanding or restricting LGBTQ rights and protections. I test whether larger evangelical populations and more liberal social public opinion play a larger role in the LGBTQ policy network compared to the general diffusion network. Additionally, I argue that there is a need to model not just adoptions, but also policy proposals to understand how the diffusion network shifts throughout the policy adoption process. I use a novel dataset of 1400 policy proposals, with 210 policy adoptions of dozens of LGBTQ policies in 2023 to create an LGBTQ policy network of adoptions, and one of the proposals. I then use an Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) to compare this policy network to a broader policy network using SPID data (Boehmke et al 2020).

Author

• Scott James LaCombe, Smith College