... law reform; in turn, changes in the law bring about changes in society. While this conventional conception dominates much research and can be helpful for the purpose of analyzing the direct effects of social movement law reform,4 it misses several important dimensions of the relationships among social movements, law, and society. First, social movements seek to effect social change through means other than law reform, whether it be by seeking to alter public opinion, mobilizing voters, or creating new, non-legal norms of behavior. These shifts in public values and non-legal norms can sometimes directly bring about social change. Second, changes in society's values and public opinion can feed back into the legal system and affect the prospects for law reform and enhance the effective implementation of legislation.5 Finally, law reform efforts themselves may have an impact on public opinion, with action by courts and other legal institutions sometimes lending legitimacy ...

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