Same-Sex Marriage: Two New Polls Prove Majority Of Americans In Support

Two major nationwide polls proving a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage were released this week. There are now six major nationwide polls showing a majority of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry.

READ: Majority Of U.S. – Including Catholics – Now Support Same-Sex Marriage

53% of Americans now support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry, according to a Gallup poll released today. And Thursday, a Public Religion Research Institute poll found 51% support for marriage equality, similar to the next most-recent one, an April CNN/​Opinion Research poll which showed 51% of Americans support marriage equality. Other polls showing majority support for marriage equality include a March ABC News/​Washington Post poll that found 53% support for same-​sex marriage, and an AP/​Roper poll, along with a CNN poll last summer, both of which found 52% support for marriage equality.

One month ago today, the New York Times Nate Silver, in “Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority,” wrote 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.”

READ: NOM’s Numbers Problem With Marriage Equality Polls

Gallup today writes that “a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. The increase since last year came exclusively among political independents and Democrats. Republicans’ views did not change.”

“This year’s nine-point increase in support for same-sex marriage is the largest year-to-year shift yet measured over this time period. Two-thirds of Americans were opposed to legalized same-sex marriage in 1996, with 27% in favor. By 2004, support had risen to 42% and, despite some fluctuations from year to year, stayed at roughly that level through last year.”

“Democrats’ and independents’ support for legalized same-sex marriage increased this year by 13 and 10 points, respectively. Republicans’ views on the issue did not change from last year. Clear majorities of both Democrats and independents now support gay marriage, 69% and 59% respectively, contrasted with 28% support among Republicans.”

Responses from LGBT groups have been swift.

“This most recent poll reaffirms that Americans have been listening and, in Lincoln’s words, ‘thinking anew’ or, as President Obama would put it, ‘evolving,’” writes Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “In conversations with their gay and lesbian neighbors, co-workers, and family members, and reflecting on their own values of fairness and respect, Americans have had the opportunity to learn about why marriage matters to same-sex couples and their families. As they’ve heard the stories of loving and committed couples harmed by the denial of marriage and the safety-net it brings, their hearts have opened and minds have changed.

“Americans believe in the Golden Rule of treating others as they themselves want to be treated,” Wolfson adds. “This growth in support in nearly every segment of the public, including people formerly opposed, shows that elected officials and judges who end the cruel exclusion from marriage are on the right side of history and delivering not just what loving and committed couples and their families need, but what the majority of Americans want.”

“The trend toward marriage equality is undeniable– and irreversible,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Marriage for committed, loving couples continues to be an important value of the American people.”