A new national poll by Pew Research, which finds rising support for same-sex? marriage, pegs two reasons for the rapid swing in public opinion ? the growing numbers of ?Millennials?, those born after 1980, and the fact that millions of Americans have changed their minds.
The poll found Americans support marriage equality by a 49-44 percent margin, with 70 percent of Millennials believing couples of the same gender should have a right to marry.? In a Pew poll taken a decade ago, the country opposed same-sex marriage by a 58-33 percent margin.
More than a quarter of marriage equality supporters say their opinions have changed,? with one reason given above all others.
?Roughly a third (32 percent) say it is because they know someone ? a friend, family member or other acquaintance ? who is homosexual,? Pew reported. ?A quarter (25 percent) say that their personal views have changed as they have thought through about the issue or simply because they have grown older.
The examples are myriad, and some very public.
Conservative Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, came out last week in favor of marriage equality, saying his decision was inspired by reflection after the Portmans? son Will, as a freshman at Yale, came out to his parents as a gay. ? Ex-Vice President Dick Cheney has endorsed same-sex marriage, and embraced his daughter Mary?s spouse and the couple?s two children.
Then-Sen. Brock Adams of Washington, more than two decades ago, was among the first U.S. politicians to give a public embrace to a lesbian offspring.
Gays and lesbians are a major entertainment presence.? In November, Wisconsin became the first state to elect a lesbian, Tammy Baldwin, to the U.S. Senate.? Providence, R.I., elected David Cicilline as mayor, then sent him to Congress.? In the Great White North, new Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is lesbian.
Pew recorded other changes.
Opinion has flip-flopped on an argument used by the Catholic hierarchy in Washington against Referendum 74 in last fall?s election.? A decade ago, Pew found a 56 percent majority felt that the traditional American family would be undermined if gays and lesbians were allowed to marry.? ?Today, 46 percent say same-sex marriage would undermine the traditional family while slightly more ? 51 percent ? disagree,? reported Pew.
?Other trends have shown similar movement since 2003: The percentage saying same-sex couples can be as good parents as heterosexual couples has risen 10 points to 64 percent, and there has been a comparable increase in the percentage saying that in general homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged, by society.?
Two-thirds of those surveyed said that same-sex couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples.? Just 30 percent disagree.
The new tolerance is even coming ? slowly ? to the Grand Old Party.
The Republican Party has stood against marriage equality, and Pew found that 54 percent of Republicans still believe homosexuality should be ?discouraged.?? The House Republican leadership has spent more than $1 million in taxpayer money to defend the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But a group of about 150 prominent Republicans and conservative, including former governors (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Christine Todd Whitman) have signed a brief to the Supreme Court asking the court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.
Two recent polls, the Pew survey and a Washington Post/ABC News poll asked questions a little differently and got different results.
Pew asked:? ?Do you favor or oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally,? and received a 49-44 percent yes margin.? The Post/ABC poll asked:? ?Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay or lesbian couples to get married??? In this poll, ?Yes? prevailed by a 58-36 percent margin.
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