To begin, the reasoning here is not meant to denigrate the hard right of the queer community for their rights. Both that heroic work and my theory below can exist simultaneously.

Conspiracy brain here, but gay marriage happening while the US empire was building up marketable means to destroy the world always seemed a bit coincidental. Queer folk were fighting to get rights, mostly in disparate groups and movements with a few very good and principled attempts at higher organization around and rich people were starting to be a liability to empire if they were supportive of LGBTQ+ rights instead of the benefit they are based solely on relation to physical means of production. The US government saw a way to strategically let one oppressed group gain their rights (a loss for empire in the short term) in order to later be able to leverage later (more wins for empire long term).

Now how many attacks are justified with the (correct but misplaced) critique of the country lacking LGBTQ+ rights? It’s not always the number 1 way, but it muddies the waters enough for queer allies to not want to take part in critique or opposition. And how many terrible domestic political things have been supported at least partially because of token queer people coming out as supportive? (This is an actual question, I don’t follow too much on internal policies so I would love feedback. Probably Anti-Trans shit would be an example)

So conclusion is: I have no idea really how it was organized or if it really succeeded due to its organization. I have doubts, actually, and think that the organization likely could’ve been better and that success was more likely a strategic choice by the empire as opposed to it succeeding by its own efforts.

Now Cuba, there I’d love to read a deep-dive on how it was organized to make the new constitutional rights!