As Supreme Court Deliberates, Support For Same-Sex Marriage Jumps To New All-Time High

Gallup today released a new poll finding a new all-time high in nationwide support for same-sex couples marrying –and you’ll be shocked to see where the most growth came from. 

On April 28, as he was hearing oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts admitted, “I don’t know what the latest opinion polls show,” as he suggested same-sex couples should just wait until the entire country supports their legal right to marriage.

One week later a new poll was released showing a new all-time high in support for same-sex marriage.

LOOK: Sorry, Justice Roberts – Majority Of Americans Now Want You To Rule For Marriage Equality

And today, again, the same thing just happened.

Gallup today reports an all-time high of 60 percent of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry, an astonishing five-point jump from just one year ago. It is “the highest Gallup has found on the question since it was first asked in 1996.”

In 1996, just 27 percent of Americans supported same-sex marriage. 68 percent of the country did not.

Today, two full decades later, those numbers are moving towards flipping. Now, with 60 percent approving and 37 percent opposed, Justice Roberts perhaps should consider the fact that the debate he was worried would not happen if the Supreme Court found a right to marriage, has happened, and the nation is clearly in support of marriage equality.

And support has been steadily rising across all party lines. When asked, “Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?,” 76 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of Independents, but just 37 percent of Republicans answered “should” to the question.

Perhaps most interesting is not the fact that now 37 percent of Republicans support marriage for same-sex couples, but that Republicans are the fast-growing group of supporters.

In just one year support among the GOP jumped seven points, among Independents it was up six, and among Democrats, it rose only two points.

Whether Republicans like it or not, Gallup notes that one in four Americans say their presidential candidate must have the same views on marriage as they do. 

“Those who are opposed to gay marriage are a good deal more likely to say that a candidate’s stance on the issue can make or break whether that candidate receives their vote (37%) than those who are supportive of gay marriage (21%). And both are more likely to say the issue is a defining factor than they have been in the past.”

 

Image by CityofStPete via Flickr and a CC license