The majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, as revealed in yet another major poll, this one from the New York Times and CBS News. While the “majority” part is no longer surprising — the majority of polls over the past two to three years have consistently shown a majority or at least a plurality of Americans support same-sex marriage — what’s dramatic is the poll identified a five point increase in just a two-month period.
The NYT/CBS News poll, taken of 1301 Americans, including 1170 registered voters, found 51% support the right of same-sex couples to marry, while 41% — a ten point spread — disagreed.
In July, the Times/CBS poll found 46% support, with 44% opposed to marriage equality.
So, a three-point drop in opposition, compared to a five-point increase in support.
The numbers continue to look good, despite the attempts by NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and other well-funded organizations.
In April, 2011, The New York Times‘ Nate Silver identified the tipping point for marriage equality advocates and wrote, in “Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority,†that “opponents of gay marriage almost certainly no longer constitute a majority; just one of the last nine polls has shown opposition to gay marriage above 50 percent.â€