Gay marriage support rises to new high in poll — with half of Republicans now in favor
A record number of Americans now support same-sex marriage, according to a new national poll.
Seventy percent favor allowing same-sex couples to marry legally, including 80% of Democrats, 76% of independents and half of Republicans, according to the 11th annual American Values Survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute.
Support across religious groups has also increased for same-sex marriage. The support breakdown is as follows, according to the survey:
79% of white mainline Protestants
78% of Hispanic Catholics
72% of religious non-Christians
68% of Hispanic Protestants
67% of white Catholics
57% of Black Protestants
56% of other Christian groups
Interviews for the survey were conducted among a random sample of 2,538 adults in the U.S. in September with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. A supplemental survey was conducted Oct. 9–12 with 1,070 adults and a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
A majority of Americans also favor laws to protect LGBTQIA+ people against discrimination, the survey found, including 94% of Democrats, 85% of independents and 68% of Republicans.
A June Gallup poll found that 67% of Americans support gay marriage — the highest percentage ever recorded by Gallup since it began measuring support for same-sex marriage in 1996 when it was 27%.
Same-sex marriage was legalized across the U.S. on June 26, 2015 through the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling that all same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide.
The Public Religion Research Institute’s recent survey also measured opinions on abortion, immigration and racial justice.
Sixty percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in most or all cases, including 78% of Democrats, 63% of independents and 32% of Republicans.
Americans generally have favorable views toward immigrants, with 86% believing they are hardworking, 83% saying they have“strong family values” and 56% saying they “make an effort to learn English.”
The months of civil unrest and protests in response to the police killings of Black people, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have led to conversations on racial justice.
Fifty-six percent of Americans said the killings are “part of a broader pattern of how police treat Black Americans” while 43% believe they’re isolated incidents, the survey reported. Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to believe the killings are isolated incidents.
