The song was made in support of legalizing same-sex marriage particularly during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74 (R-74 or Ref 74), a Washington state referendum to approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

Macklemore explained that the song also came out of his own frustration with hip hop's positions on homosexuality. "Misogyny and homophobia are the two acceptable means of oppression in hip-hop culture. It's 2012. There needs to be some accountability. I think that as a society we're evolving and I think that hip hop has always been a representation of what's going on in the world right now."[1]

He says he began to write the song from the perspective of a gay 13-year-old, after his mother sent him an article about the boy's suicide. But while discussing this with his producer Ryan Lewis told him "You know what? This is good, but this isn't your story...and you have a story."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same_Love