On November 6, four states -- Maine, Washington, Maryland, and Minnesota -- took the side of gay marriage in ballot referenda. Voters had never done it before. In fact voters had rejected gay marriage initiatives 31 times. Then suddenly there was a sweep? Had the electorate suddenly seen the light?

Molly Ball is a staff writer covering national politics at The Atlantic. We talk  with her about her new in-depth analysis of marriage equality from California's Prop 8 to the victories this past November. The piece is called The Marriage Plot: Inside This Year's Epic Campaign for Gay Equality. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/the-marriage-plot-inside-this-years-epic-campaign-for-gay-equality/265865/