Public Opinion and Morality Policy: Lessons from Canada and the United States

The relation between public opinion and public policy remains in dispute over whether or not there is any impact and, if so, to what extent. Conclusions vary, depending on researchers’ disciplinary perspective and methodological approach as well as on the subject matter of the issues studied (e.g., Achen and Bartels 2016; Burstein 1998; 2014; Erikson, MacKuen, and Stimson 2002; Erikson and Wlezien 2012; Page and Shapiro 1992). We examine the possible role of public opinion in affecting policy by comparing the life histories of eight parallel issues in Canada and the United States. Issues selected all involve morality policies and include abortion, capital punishment, gun control, marijuana legalization, physician-assisted suicide, pornography, same-sex relations, and same-sex marriage. Because of the moral content of these issues, they are expected to be highly salient, easy to understand, resistant to compromise, and tied to collective action. When they enter the policy arena, they are typically associated with high levels of conflict. Particular issues are selected because their attributes could be expected to make public opinion about them a significant factor in explaining how they are processed by the political system. Our research aims at answering three questions: To what extent does public opinion involving moral conflicts affect the trajectory of issues, from the time they emerge to their possible resolution? Does the evolution of issues over time affect how and when public opinion reacts? How does the national setting have an impact on the relevance of public opinion?