Gay marriage in England: after the party

The legal recognition of same-sex conjugal relationships is, without any doubt, a hugely significant cultural and political phenomenon. But how historians of the future will explain or account for it — both nationally and internationally — must be a matter of debate. A progressive account might locate it as an almost end point in a gradual process of liberalization that began with decriminalization. Comparative perspectives will draw attention to the different legal institutions adopted across jurisdictions and to the distinct legal and constitutional methods used to achieve them. Crucial here is the awareness that legal recognition is as much about “nation-making” and the refashioning of modes of legitimate citizenship as it is about providing specific benefits to couples. In telling this broader story the arguments made for and against legal recognition are a rich source. The dominant account of these debates could easily adopt a binary perspective, with “progressives versus..