Seven in 10 Americans say marriage between same-sex couples should be recognized by law.
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Seven in 10 American adults said in May of this year that marriage between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law, a record high according to Gallup.
The Senate held a key test vote on Wednesday on a bill that could move same-sex-marriage rights one step closer to protection under federal law. Democrats gained support from 12 Republicans, two above the threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. The bill’s progress reflects a shift in public opinion over time, with same-sex marriage now enjoying overwhelming support from Democrats and majority support from Republicans.
Same-sex marriages …
Should be valid
71%
70%
50%
30%
Should not be valid
28%
10%
No opinion
’96
’00
’04
’08
’12
’16
’22
Same-sex marriages …
Should be valid
71%
70%
50%
30%
Should not be valid
28%
10%
No opinion
’96
’98
’00
’02
’04
’06
’08
’10
’12
’14
’16
’18
’20
’22
Question wording: Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?
Source: Gallup
The New York Times
The public’s attitude toward same-sex marriage has been among the most significant shifts in American public opinion in recent decades. Seven in 10 American adults said in May of this year that marriage between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law, a record high according to Gallup. That represents a near complete reversal proportionally in the public’s views over the last 30 years. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, nearly seven in 10 Americans said same-sex marriages should not be recognized by the law. Only about one-quarter said they should be valid.
Public support for same-sex marriage has grown since then. In 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses, 42 percent of Americans supported legalizing same-sex marriage. And by 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage was a constitutionally protected right, 58 percent of the public supported legal same-sex marriage.
Still, at the time of the 2015 ruling, just 30 percent of Republicans backed the change. Since then, support among Republicans has grown substantially, with a majority now in favor of same-sex marriage.
Share who think same-sex marriages should be valid
Democrats
87%
90%
70%
Independents
72%
50%
Republicans
55%
30%
10%
’96
’98
’00
’02
’04
’06
’08
’10
’12
’14
’16
’18
’20
’22
Share who think same-sex marriages should be valid
Dem.
87%
90%
70%
Indep.
72%
50%
Rep.
55%
30%
10%
’96
’00
’04
’08
’12
’16
’22
Question wording: Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?
Source: Gallup
The New York Times
Support has been largely driven by younger Republicans. According to Pew Research Center, 64 percent of Republicans ages 18 to 29 say the legality of same-sex marriage is a good thing for society, compared with 30 percent of Republicans ages 65 and older.
Even in some of the deepest red states across America, support for same-sex marriage is trending upward. In Mississippi, which has a so-called trigger law to ban same-sex marriage if the Supreme Court’s ruling were to be overturned, support has grown over the last few years, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. In 2014, 32 percent of Mississippians supported legalization of same-sex marriage; that number rose to 44 percent as recently as last year. And in Louisiana, a majority now support same-sex marriage protections, up from 42 percent in 2014.
Religion once stood as a dividing line in how Americans viewed same-sex marriage, but even some of those barriers have begun to fall. Pew found that more than six in 10 Catholics and white mainline Protestants favored same-sex marriage, up substantially since 2001. And while fewer Black Protestants and white evangelical Protestants are in favor, support has grown among both groups over the last two decades.
Changing support for same-sex marriage by religion
2001
2019
|
|
White evangelical Protestants
13
29%
Black Protestants*
30
44
Catholics
40
61
White mainline Protestants
38
66
Religiously unaffiliated
61
79
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Changing support for same-sex marriage by religion
2001
2019
|
|
White evangelical
Protestants
13
29%
Black
Protestants*
30
44
Catholics
40
61
White mainline
Protestants
38
66
Religiously
unaffiliated
61
79
10%
30%
50%
70%
*The latest data shown for Black Protestants is from 2017, not 2019.
Source: Pew Research Center
The New York Times
In July, the House of Representatives passed a similar bill to codify abortion rights, weeks after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, though it lost steam after it failed to draw enough Republican support. Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion hinted that prior rulings, such as the court’s decision on same-sex marriage, could be future targets for the court to overturn.
Source: nytimes.com
