Should Marriage Equality Be Taught as Controversial Post–Obergefell v. Hodges?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Considering School Practices and Student Identities in Particular National Contexts

Abstract

In this theoretical paper, I argue that the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage across the United States was the moment at which the public debate over marriage equality had “tipped” to being a settled issue. To illustrate this argument, I analyze the issue of marriage equality using three often-cited criteria for evaluating the controversial nature of public issues: The epistemic criterion, the political criterion, and the politically authentic criterion. In each case, I argue that there is no rational reason to consider same-sex marriage an open controversial issue post-Obergefell. Further, I contend that framing marriage equality as an open controversial issue undermines the civic responsibility of schooling.

Author

• Wayne Journell, University of North Carolina - Greensboro