A Record Number Of Americans, Including Republicans, Now Support Same-Sex Marriage

BY JACLYN DIAZ

Support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. has reached an all-time high of 70%, according to a poll released by Gallup on Tuesday.

The percentage — the highest since the organization began recording the trend in 1996 — marks a 10% increase since 2015, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled all states must recognize same-sex marriages.

The rise in support stems largely from a majority of Republicans, who for the first time approve of same-sex marriage at 55%, according to Gallup.

The company reports 83% of Democrats, a political bloc that has consistently been the biggest backers of same-sex marriage, indicated support for it this year. Compared to prior reports, Democrats reported the same level of approval for gay and lesbian marriage over the past few years.

A man holds a U.S. and a rainbow flag outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2015, after the court legalized gay marriage nationwide. CREDIT: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Gallup wrote, “This could suggest that support for gay marriage has reached a ceiling for this group, at least for now.”

Support among voters who identify as independents, is now at 73% slightly higher than the 68% to 71% range recorded from 2017 to 2020.

The company also broke down responses, calculated through a random sample of phone interviews with 1,000 adults, based on age groups. The analysis revealed all age groups are the most supportive they’ve ever been.

Positions on same-sex marriage still differ among age groups with 84% of young adults, 72% of middle-aged adults, and 60% of older adults saying they favor same-sex marriage.

When Gallup first began asking this question in 1996, just 27% of Americans endorsed the legal recognition of gay and lesbian marriages. The data comes from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, which was conducted last month.