Framing same-sex civil marriage in the Maryland Court of Appeals

In the United States, Maryland's Court of Appeals case, Frank Conaway v. Gitanjali Deane (2007), is the most recent court decision to define and limit the terms of civil marriage to the exclusion of all but heterosexual couples. In my thesis, I analyze the oral arguments from the court hearing, which was broadcast live on the web in December 2006, as well as the Maryland Court of Appeals majority and dissenting court opinions published in September 2007. Drawing from Goffman, I examine the central frames employed by the appellees, the state, and the High Court Justices in their arguments supporting and opposing same-sex marriage. This thesis explores how the legal frames of the debate construct the meanings of sexuality, family, marriage, citizenship, otherness, and privilege.