A comparative analysis of the framing devices used by an online pro-same sex marriage publication (The San Francisco Chronicle), and by Democratic Politician Hillary Clinton when framing their views on the same-sex marriage debate.

Abstract

Introduction (part): Issues directly impacting lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens of the United States of America have gained serious media and political attention for a number of years (Warren & Bloch 2014). It has gained traction in recent years due to LGBT rights becoming more salient within American society, with 51% of people supporting same-sex marriage in a poll conducted in 2013, compared with just 32% in 2003 (Pew Research Center 2013). The issue of same-sex marriage has been at the forefront recently due to it's legalization after the 5-4 ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on June 26th 2015, which ruled that same-sex couples now have the Constitutional right to marry across the 51 United States of America. Same-sex marriage as a social movement is one of the fastest growing social movements in recent years, and many have stated that legalization of same-sex marriage is of cultural significance and representative of old barriers of sexuality, class and race are being broken down indicating that there is a much bigger appreciation for diversity in today's society (Holtzhausen 2012, p. 2). The issue of same-sex marriage in the United States, is one that has divided a nation, with some championing the legalization and others strongly opposing, and previous laws of the issue being left at state level, creating a confusing mix in which some states were issuing marriage licenses, and other's were not. This confusing mix forced the issue to go before a national court, with it ultimately being legalized.