US: Poll shows support for nationwide same-sex marriage is at an all-time high
A survey conducted in America this month has revealed support for same-sex marriage has grown to be a “mirror image” of ten years ago, with the majority now in favour of legalisation and many calling for a nationwide law.
The poll, conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News, found that 58% of Americans now support the legalisation of same-sex marriage, while 36% oppose it.
The Washington Post’s Jon Cohen says: “Public attitudes toward gay marriage are a mirror image of what they were a decade ago: in 2003, 37 percent favored gay nuptials, and 55 percent opposed them.”
The poll also revealed that the majority, 64%, felt that whether same-sex marriage is legal or not should be decided on the basis of the US Constitution rather than by individual states.
Other findings in the poll included a difference in support among age groups, with nearly seven in ten over-65s opposing same-sex marriage. That figure has dropped from over eight in ten in 2009.
Young people are more likely to support same-sex marriage, with the majority of both Democratic and Republican-leaning voters aged 18-49 polling that they were pro-equality.
The growing support for same-sex marriage reflects wider public opinion that being gay is not a choice. 62% of Americans now believe it is “just the way some people are”, while 20 years ago fewer than half did.
Around 75% of those who believed being gay was not a matter of choice “strongly” supported same-sex marriage, with a similar number, around two thirds, who thought it was a choice “strongly” opposed to same-sex marriage.
The poll was conducted on 7-10 March among a sample of 1,001 adults, with a 3.5% margin of error.
