The Shift in Public Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage
The issue of same-sex marriage was back in the news Tuesday as a federal appeals court overturned a voter-approved proposition in California that banned it in 2008. As the battle goes on — and this one is likely to end up in the Supreme Court — it is also worth taking a look at how public opinion has changed on the subject in the last eight years.
The most recent Pew Research Center survey that tested the issue, conducted Sept. 22 – Oct. 4, found Americans to be almost equally divided, with 45 percent favoring the idea of letting gays and lesbians marry legally, while 46 percent opposed it. As recently as 2009, there was still a majority of the public opposed to gay marriage, and back in December 2004, 61 percent were against it, while 32 percent supported the idea.
Pew said, “The gradual change over the long-term largely reflects the arrival of the new generations politically. Over the course of the past 15 years each younger generation has been more supportive of gay marriage than those older than them. As the younger generations make up a larger share of the public, the balance of opinion shifts inexorably in that direction.”
While the over-65 “Silent generation” opposes making gay marriage legal by 55 percent to 33 percent, and Boomers oppose it by 48 percent to 42 percent, younger adults in the Millennial and Gen-X age groups are in favor of it. That is particularly true of Millennials who support making gay marriage legal by 59 percent to 35 percent.
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