News (USA)

The majority of Americans support marriage equality at record high numbers

Two men dancing at a wedding
Photo: Shutterstock.

While conservatives have tried to paint LGBTQ+ people as dangerous deviants hell-bent on destroying America, a recent Gallup poll found that most Americans aren’t buying the rhetoric – at least regarding marriage equality.

While LGBTQ+ people’s right to get married has been a polarizing topic for decades, 71% of Americans support marriage equality currently. That is a record high, matching the level of support found last year.

It wasn’t until 2011 that most Americans supported same-sex marriages, and the number has steadily risen. When Gallup started polling on the question in 1996, only 27% were in favor.

In 2015, shortly before the Obergefell v Hodges ruling by the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality nationwide, support cracked 60%. By 2021, 70% were in favor.

While support has increased across all demographic, two subgroups have yet to crack the 50% mark – Republicans (49%) and weekly churchgoers (41%). Both groups have been the most active in recent attempts to undermine LGBTQ+ equality. A slight majority of Republicans supported marriage equality in 2021 and 2022, but the number dipped slightly for the most recent polling.

Adults aged 18 to 29 (89%), Democrats (84%), and infrequent churchgoers (83%) were the most likely to support same-sex marriages.

A graph showing support for same-sex marriage by subgroup
The 2023 Gallup Poll found that support for marriage equality has held steady at record-high numbers.

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