Public opn about gay rights has shifted enormoly the Uned Stat over the past few s. What are some of the factors that have led to this historic change attus?
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
Proponents ntend that gay marriage bans are discrimatory and unnstutnal, opponents ague that marriage is primarily for procreatn. * peoples thoughts on gay marriage *
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.
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.
SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?
Currently, 45% of Gen X Republins and Republin leaners favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally, roughly double the percentage as 2005 (23%).
HIDN BRA: AMERI'S CHANGG ATTUS TOWARD GAY PEOPLE
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. 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.
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.
LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE THK GAY SEX IS IMMORAL
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.