WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than two in three Americans continue to believe that marriage between same-sex couples should be legal (69%), and nearly as many say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable (64%). Both readings have been consistently above the 50% mark since the early 2010s and above 60% since 2017.
The recent halt in the long-term upward trend in both indicators of public support for the LGBTQ+ community reflects Democrats’ and independents’ support leveling off, while Republicans’ has dipped slightly.
Same-Sex Marriage Support Near Record High
The latest 69% of Americans who support legal same-sex marriage, from Â鶹´«Ã½AV’s May 1-23 Values and Beliefs poll, is statistically similar to the record high of 71% recorded in 2022 and 2023. When Â鶹´«Ã½AV first polled about same-sex marriage in 1996, 27% of Americans thought such unions should be legal, and 68% said they should not.
By 2004, 42% were in favor, and in 2011, support crossed the majority level for the first time. After registering slightly lower in two subsequent measures, public support for legal recognition of same-sex unions has remained above 50% consistently since late 2012. About one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized same-sex marriage, public support increased to 61%, and it has remained above that level since.
Currently, 83% of Democrats, 74% of independents and 46% of Republicans favor legalized same-sex marriage.
Partisans have differed in their levels of support for legal same-sex marriage, with Democrats more supportive than Republicans and independents’ views closer to Democrats’. Majorities of Democrats have supported legalizing same-sex unions since 2004, and a majority of independents have agreed since 2011. Over the past few decades, Republicans’ backing for same-sex marriage has averaged about 30 percentage points lower than that of Democrats while also showing the same general pattern of increased support over time. Republican support has reached the majority level twice, with 55% readings in 2021 and 2022, but has fallen below 50% in the past two years.
Majority Continues to View Same-Sex Relations as Morally Acceptable
Â鶹´«Ã½AV has gauged Americans’ views of the moral acceptability of gay or lesbian relations annually since 2001 as part of a list of personal behaviors and societal practices. The 64% of U.S. adults who currently say same-sex relations are morally acceptable is unchanged from last year but significantly lower than the 71% record high in 2022. While majorities of Americans have considered same-sex relations to be moral since 2010, fewer, between 38% and 49%, said so prior to that.
As with support for same-sex marriage, Democrats (81%) -- and, to a lesser extent, independents (68%) -- are more likely than Republicans (40%) to say relations between gays or lesbians are morally acceptable. Whereas a majority of Democrats have thought same-sex relations are morally acceptable since 2006, no more than half of Republicans have said the same throughout Â鶹´«Ã½AV’s trend, except for three readings -- 51% in 2020 and 2021 and 56% in 2022. The current 41-point gap between Democrats and Republicans ties 2011 as the largest on record.
Bottom Line
As the percentage of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or something other than heterosexual continues to rise in the U.S., public support for same-sex marriage and views of the morality of same-sex relations remain high, although not holding at the peak levels recorded two years ago. For over two decades, Republicans have lagged behind Democrats and independents in these beliefs. Although the longer-term trends have shown increased support among all three party groups, the past two years have seen a leveling off, if not a decline, in that support.
With younger Americans consistently more likely than older Americans to favor legal same-sex marriage and to view same-sex relations as morally acceptable, public support should resume its growth at some point in the coming decades, should younger adults and new generations entering adulthood maintain higher levels of support.
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