Support For Gay Marriage Among Republicans Up 24% In The Last Year
A slim majority of Republicans do still oppose gay marriage, but the numbers are changing rapidly per a CBS poll.
In fact, 33% of the people who said they support gay marriage said they once held the opposite position.
As the Supreme Court begins to hear oral arguments in cases involving two high-profile laws to do with same-sex marriage – California’s Proposition 8 and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act -53 percent of Americans think it should be legal for same-sex couples to marry, while 39 percent say it should not be legal.
Although public opinion on this topic has been consistent for the last few months, it has reversed markedly from as recently as a year ago. In May 2012, just after President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, 51 percent of Americans said it should not be legal for same-sex couples to marry.
The poll suggests the extent to which people’s views have changed. Thirty-three percent of Americans who now think same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry say they once held the opposite view. …
Politically, most Democrats (63 percent) and independents (56 percent) favor legalization of same-sex marriage, while most Republicans (56 percent) do not. Still, support for same-sex marriage among Republicans has increased from just 13 percent in May 2012 (after the President announced his support of same-sex marriage) to 37 percent today.
Minds are changing, and Republicans are getting left behind on this issue. Especially among younger voters, as another poll from the Public Religion Research Institute shows (see below).
From a personal, moral standpoint I think gays should be allowed to marry. It’s their lives. Let’s grant them the dignity to live them as they wish.
But politically, this is a loser issue for Republicans long term. Opposition to gay marriage is increasingly a minority viewpoint among present generations of American voters, and in the coming generations it’s going to be downright marginal.
