A new poll released Monday shows
support for gay marriage to be at an all-time high.
According to the Washington
Post-ABC
News poll, 58 percent of Americans now believe such unions should
be legal, while 36 percent remain opposed. That is a 21 percentage
point increase over the past decade.
One question in the survey was directly
aimed at the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming pair of cases related to
the issue.
When asked, “Do you think each state
should make its own law on whether same-sex marriage is legal or
illegal there, or do you think this should be decided for all states
on the basis of the U.S. Constitution?” 64 percent of respondents
answered that the question should be decided on the basis of the U.S.
Constitution.
“This latest poll underscores
America's dramatic and stunning embrace of the freedom to marry, and
says to decision makers – lawmakers, judges, and even justices –
that it is time to end marriage discrimination,” said Evan Wolfson,
founder and president of Freedom to Marry. “With a super-majority
of Americans now supporting the freedom to marry, and majority
support in nearly every segment of the public, the freedom to marry's
time has, indeed, come.”
Support among young adults under 29
also hit a new record: 81 percent.
But only 44 percent of adults 65 years
and up support marriage equality. Fifty percent believe it should be
illegal.
A majority of Democrats (72%) and
independents (62%) favor such unions. And while Republican
opposition has decreased 13 percent since 2004, a majority (59%)
still remain opposed. Only thirty-four percent of Republicans
support giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
The poll also found that a large
majority (62%) of Americans believe being gay is not a choice.