ABSTRACT
Implementing gay rights and the concept of morality politics The political claim of homosexual interest groups in Poland and elsewhere concerns equal treatment for gays and lesbians in terms of legalising same-sex partnerships and the protection against discrimination and homophobia. This claim has often provoked unwelcome counter-reactions from individuals and groups from within both political and civil society. Moony et al. argue that this type of conflict can be classified as morality policy, a type of public policy that differs from others in at least three points (Mooney 2001; Mooney and Schuldt 2006). First, morality policy is – in line with Lowi (1964) – seen primarily as shaped by value-based and not economyoriented reasoning. In this sense, morality policy and its politics ‘are characterised by debates over first principles’, in which ‘at least one advocacy coalition portray[s] the issues as one of morality or sin’ and, second, it ‘use[s] moral arguments in its policy advocacy’ (Haider-Markel and Meier 1996; Mooney 2001: 3-4). Third, morality policy exists, when it is based ‘on the perception of the actors involved and the terms of the debate among them’ (Mooney 2001: 3-4). These characteristics impact on the process of morality policy. This is a process where societal and religious actors, in particular, are more deeply involved than in other policy fields (Mooney 2001; Smith and Tatalovich 2003).3
