Growg Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Mds and Changg Demographics | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• GROWG SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE: CHANGED MDS AND CHANGG DEMOGRAPHICS
• SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?
• HIDN BRA: AMERI'S CHANGG ATTUS TOWARD GAY PEOPLE
• LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE THK GAY SEX IS IMMORAL

GROWG SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE: CHANGED MDS AND CHANGG DEMOGRAPHICS

For stance, 45% of adults the Silent Generatn (those born between 1928 and 1945) favor allowg gays and lbians to wed, pared wh 74% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). 4As wh the general public, Amerins who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (LGBT) are most likely to ce love as a very important reason for gettg married. Sce then, several other European untri – cludg England and Wal, France, Ireland, all of Sndavia, Spa and, most recently, Atria, Germany and Malta – have legalized gay marriage.

SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?

Among olr horts, Boomers (ag 51 to 69) are currently divid (45% favor, 48% oppose), while Silents (ag 70-87) are the only generatn which signifintly more oppose (53%) than favor (39%) gay marriage. Currently, 45% of Gen X Republins and Republin leaners favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally, roughly double the percentage as 2005 (23%).

This gap has narrowed somewhat om a ago, when 69% of liberal Democrats backed gay marriage, pared wh only about a third (32%) of the party’s nservativ and morat. The share of blacks who support gay marriage has not changed signifintly sce 2012: 41% favor same-sex marriage today, while 51% oppose ; 2012, 40% favored while 48% opposed.

HIDN BRA: AMERI'S CHANGG ATTUS TOWARD GAY PEOPLE

That is ltle changed om recent years, but ne years ago Hispanics were divid; 45% favored gay marriage while about as many (48%) were opposed.

And adults who do not intify wh an anized relign – whose ranks are growg – are more likely than those who affiliate wh a relign to support gay marriage. And while support among whe evangelil Prottants has creased 13 pots (om 14% to 27%), whe evangelils oppose gay marriage by far greater than two-to-one. While that is ltle changed om 2013, a greater share of the public expects gay marriage to be legally regnized today than did so a 2004 survey by the L.

LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE THK GAY SEX IS IMMORAL

A new natnal survey fds that much of the shift is attributable to the arrival of a large hort of young adults – the Millennial generatn – who are far more open to gay rights than prev generatns.

Equally important, however, is that 14% of all Amerins – and 28% of gay marriage supporters – say they have changed their mds on this issue favor of gay marriage. In 2003, as the bate over same-sex marriage tensified and Massachetts beme the first state to allow same-sex marriage, a 56% majory of Amerins felt that allowg gays and lbians to marry would unrme the tradnal Amerin fay, while 39% disagreed. Other trends have shown siar movement sce 2003: The percentage sayg same-sex upl n be as good parents as heterosexual upl has risen 10 pots (to 64%) and there has been a parable crease the percentage sayg that general homosexualy should be accepted, rather than disuraged, by society.