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This study provides an event history analysis of the factors contributing to a social movement's ability to influence pubic policy. More specifically, the study presents a quantitative, historical examination of the influence of national, state, and local gay and lesbian movements on the decriminalization of state sodomy laws, an important goal of the movement, from 1969 to 1998. Drawing from political opportunity models, resource mobilization theory, and theories of cultural opportunity, the study explores the importance of political conditions, social movement characteristics, and the larger cultural context on the ability of the gay and lesbian movement to achieve its goals. The analyses demonstrate that all three factors have some influence on the likelihood of sodomy law decriminalization, but most importantly, political opportunity and movement characteristics work together to bring about success. During periods of political opportunity, the size and tactics of the lesbian and gay movement influenced the likelihood of success.

This study provides an event history analysis of the factors contributing to a social movement's ability to influence pubic policy. More specifically, the study presents a quantitative, historical examination of the influence of national, state, & local gay & lesbian movements on the decriminalization of state sodomy laws, an important goal of the movement, from 1969 to 1998. Drawing from political opportunity models, resource mobilization theory, & theories of cultural opportunity, the study explores the importance of political conditions, social movement characteristics, & the larger cultural context on the ability of the gay & lesbian movement to achieve its goals. The analyses demonstrate that all three factors have some influence on the likelihood of sodomy law decriminalization, but most importantly, political opportunity & movement characteristics work together to bring about success. During periods of political opportunity, the size & tactics of the lesbian & gay movement influenced the likelihood of success. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 76 References. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the major breakthrough for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists on marriage equality, the fight against employment discrimination remains elusive. Whether one is protected from discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity depends on where one lives and is contingent on a patchwork of state and local policies. In this article, we investigate the adoption of state nondiscrimination laws that are inclusive of sexual orientation between 1980 and 2009. Findings from our event history analysis of policy adoption contribute to the study of social movements and LGBT politics in three ways. First, and consistent with social movement theory, we find countermovement opposition to gay rights as well as pro-LGBT political opportunities to be critical. Second, we find organization and opportunity to fluctuate in importance over time, underscoring the need for historically informed analyses that seriously consider when key actors should matter for social movement outcomes. Third, we produce new state-level estimates of public opinion of nondiscrimination laws. We show that while very high levels of public support are common for states that adopt nondiscrimination laws, they are not enough on their own, particularly in the face of opposition.

Research on urban growth and vitality suggests that gay men concentrate in high quality of life cities, indicated by high–tech development, diversity, and city amenities. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the degree to which theories of urban renewal and economic development—including Florida's creative class—can explain the neighborhood–level distribution of lesbians and gays within a city. Using 2000 U.S. Census data, tax parcel data, and other data sources, we conduct multivariate spatial regression to investigate the distribution of lesbians and gays in Columbus, Ohio, and their relationship to diversity, openness, and amenities. While the neighborhood distribution of gay men is associated with many of these characteristics, lesbian housing patterns are not. We do, however, find both lesbians and gays concentrate in tracts with other gay and lesbian households and that gay residential patterns are influenced by gay concentration in neighboring tracts suggesting that geographic clustering may also be a protective mechanism.

We examine the circumstances in which labor is successful in the federal appellate courts when it has filed unfair labor practice charges against employers. We specifically focus on legal disputes concerning union organizing. Few studies have examined the role of class dynamics in shaping judicial law, even when labor law is studied. We find evidence that two strategies used by class actors influence judicial lawmaking. The greater the degree to which workers mobilize the law, the more likely they are to win union organizing cases in the federal courts. However, the greater the degree to which employers are organizationally mobilized, the less likely it is that judicial outcomes will favor labor. We also find that legal precedent matters in judicial decision making. We conclude that class dynamics are important in judicial lawmaking. However, we also conclude that, to a degree, judicial decisions also remain autonomous from class dynamics.

As companies look for better ways to manage diversity, one of the approaches that is emerging is the use of female and minority network groups. These groups are not well understood, and there has been no quantitative analysis of their impact on minority employees. Social network theory suggests that network groups should enhance the social resources available to women and minorities and in that way enhance their chance of career success, but some critics of network groups suggest that backlash might produce greater social isolation and discrimination. In this paper, we analyze a survey of members of the National Black MBA Association to find out whether network groups have a positive impact on career optimism, what specific effects of these groups are most beneficial, and whether groups enhance isolation or discrimination. Results indicate that network groups have a positive overall impact on career optimism of Black managers, and that this occurs primarily via enhanced mentoring. Network groups have no effect on discrimination, either positive or negative. There are some indications of greater isolation, but also some indications of greater contact with Whites.