MARRIAGE
Gallup: 70 Percent of US Supports Marriage Equality
Five years after SCOTUS decision, GOP support drives latest boost
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Buoyed by newfound
support among Republicans,
more Americans
than ever are backing
marriage equality, according to
Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs
poll.
Findings from the survey, published
on June 8, show that 70 percent
of people in the US back LGBTQ
marriage — a far cry from the
27 percent of Americans who answered
that way in 1996 when Gallup
fi rst began tracking the data.
According to the report, which is
based on telephone interviews with
1,016 adults between May 3 and
May 18, support for LGBTQ marriage
has increased by 10 percentage
points since reaching 60 percent
in 2015 when the US Supreme
Court declared queer folks could
legally marry nationwide.
Marriage equality has the support of more than two-thirds of Americans.
Over the years, support for equal
marriage rights steadily grew —
but the biggest increase as of late
has been seen among Republicans.
For the fi rst time ever, an
Congressman
Gregory W. Meeks
5th Congressional District of New York
@GregMeeksNYC @GregMeeksNYC @GregMeeksNYC
– Paid for and authorized by Friends for Gregory Meeks –
REUTERS/LUCY NICHOLSON
outright majority of Republicans
— 55 percent — support marriage
equality, which is a hefty 11-point
increase from just two years ago.
Just 30 percent of Republicans in
2015 and 16 percent in 1996 were
supportive of marriage rights.
“The latest increase in support
among all Americans is driven
largely by changes in Republicans’
views,” researchers wrote. “Once
opponents of legalization, Republicans
have mostly come to back it.”
This year, 83 percent of Democrats
back marriage equality,
which is the same number as in
2018. The lack of fl uctuation in the
last couple years among Democrats
has led researchers to suggest that
Democrats have reached a ceiling
in their support of the issue. Still,
Democratic support for marriage
equality has grown over the years:
In 2015, it had the support of 74
percent of Democrats compared to
33 percent in 1996.
Among independents, 73 percent
favor marriage equality compared
to approximately 62 percent
in 2015 and 32 percent in 1996.
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