Abstract
Candidates are notorious for using emotionally explosive issues in their campaigns, and one of the most visceral issues in recent years is homosexuality, which is often portrayed as a threat to "family values" (Jamieson 64). Not surprisingly, homosexuality was used as a wedge issue in the 1996 Presidential election. With thirty-seven of the fifty states considering same-sex marriage legislation by 1996, combined with a culture just beginning to increase its awareness of and comfort with homosexuality, it is not too shocking that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law restricting marriage to woman/man couples, was introduced in the federal legislature. What surprised and angered many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and transgendered (LGBT) voters, however, was President William J. Clinton's seeming capitulation to cultural conservatives in his support of DOMA.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
29
Issue
2
First Page
26
Last Page
38
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Goetz, Laura
(1997)
"Family Matters: The Defense of Marriage Act and Clinton's 1996 Election Rhetoric,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 29:
No.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol29/iss2/6
Copyright
©1997 Iowa Communication Association
