Poll Finds Majority Support For Marriage Equality

As they say, it gets better:

More than half of Americans say it should be legal for gays and lesbians to marry, a first in nearly a decade of polls by ABC News and The Washington Post.

This milestone result caps a dramatic, long-term shift in public attitudes. From a low of 32 percent in a 2004 survey of registered voters, support for gay marriage has grown to 53 percent today. Forty-four percent are opposed, down 18 points from that 2004 survey.

The issue remains divisive; as many adults "strongly" oppose gay marriage as strongly support it, and opposition rises to more than 2-1 among Republicans and conservatives and 3-1 among evangelical white Protestants, a core conservative group. But opposition to gay marriage has weakened in these groups from its levels a few years ago, and support has grown sharply among others - notably, among Catholics, political moderates, people in their 30s and 40s and men.

As Matt Yglesias says, "by 2016, the kind of equivocation on the subject that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton engaged in will clearly be unacceptable to an equality-minded Democratic primary electorate." And, hey, yes, 2016 sounds like it's going to be great. But aren't we trying to win the future right now?

RELATED:
Support for Gay Marriage Reaches a Milestone [ABC News]
Public Opinion Gay For Marriage Equality [Yglesias]

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:
Obama Should Feel 'Uncomfortable' That Conservatives Are Co-opting Gay Rights Issues: Top Dem

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Comments

[cinemaven]

07:36 PM on 03/19/2011

Marriage became equal in 2005 here in Canada (2003 in my province)... today, even the few people I know who were somewhat against it are wondering what they thought would happen. It should have happened sooner. I get to celebrate 31 years of marriage this year but my cousin can only celebrate 23 years of commitment (and 8 years of marriage). I support marriage equality ... it threatens the sanctity of my marriage if the rights of my friends and family are less than my rights!!

[WheelsOnFire]

07:38 PM on 03/19/2011

Brilliantly said!

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:13 PM on 03/20/2011

Well said! Wish I could fan you again! Yep it should have happened sooner, but the point is that Canada did legalise marriage equality long before the US will have it nationwide. I took advantage of the fact that there was no nationality or residency requirement to marry the love of my life...three and a half years later, we are still together and still very much in love (so much for nonsense that claims GLBT couples don't last much longer than a year and a half!).

[cinemaven]

10:40 AM on 03/23/2011

I wish I could fan you again several times a week *lol*. Pretty much every time I see you post. I fave you so often you wouldn't believe it

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:18 PM on 03/19/2011

I would like to post a link for the more spiritually open posting here. This is some of the latest Bibilcial scholarship:

http://www.soulforce.org/pdf/whatthebiblesays.pdf

And for those who are interested in what science has to say:


http://www.soulforce.org/pdf/whatthesciencesays.pdf

[thucy3]

07:28 PM on 03/19/2011

Thanks again!

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:32 PM on 03/19/2011

You are most welcome!

[Samourai]

07:04 PM on 03/19/2011

Speaking of marriage equality, I get less sex from my wife than the average married man so, government, you think you can do something about that, too?

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:19 PM on 03/19/2011

Ignorant and bigoted. You may think you are being funny, you are not. This involves the right of loving couples to marry and to access the federal rights you already enjoy by virtue of being legally married.

[Samourai]

07:36 PM on 03/19/2011

I'm not married and there's nothing bigoted about it. You're ignorant for deliberately misinterpreting my comment so you would have an excuse to call someone names and release a little anger. I wasn't saying that 'IF you're going to give glbt couples the right to marry, then why not give me the right to force my wife to have sex w/ me'. I wasn't making what's tantamount to the Repblican't argument of 'why not let animals marry, then....'. I was joking - do all the comments really have to simply be for or against? Now apologize to me - NOW!

[thucy3]

07:29 PM on 03/19/2011

So how much sex from your wife does the average married man get?

[Samourai]

07:51 PM on 03/19/2011

About 100x a year.....did you think there was no answer?

[builderman55]

05:10 PM on 03/19/2011

Not according to Faux News they don't...

[Ioan Lightoller]

05:35 PM on 03/19/2011

Not sure what side you're coming from builderman55 but Faux Noise is not exactly the ultimate in trustworthy news sources. They say whatever their right-wing audience wants to hear.

[builderman55]

06:54 PM on 03/19/2011

Damn it's hard to show sarcasm in two dimensions! :)~. Faux News is for the we-don't-care-what-the-facts-are crowd.

[LoveAtFirstWink]

04:08 PM on 03/19/2011

Marriage Equality is the last remaining civil rights issue in the US. It's great that the American public is finally starting to step up for equality. My fiance and I are fighting hard for marriage equality and are campaigning to become the first LGBT couple to win a national wedding contest. Help us bring this issue to the masses by voting! http://www.loveatfirstwink.com/vote

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:42 PM on 03/19/2011

I voted for you guys! I think it would be great if a gay couple won this.

[cinemaven]

07:19 PM on 03/19/2011

Thank you for voting! Your vote has been counted.

Second place... wow! Good luck to you both. Hope you can make up the difference.
Maybe other posters will see this and throw you a vote since your love story is so worthy :)

[wyocowboy62]

10:50 AM on 03/19/2011

In the end religion always looses...hx shows us that and it will continue to show us that they will loose!

[J Michael Norris]

04:20 AM on 03/19/2011

I don't see why we can't vote on all minority rights.

I mean, why can't we put up for vote whether Asian-Americans can get federal funding for college? Or why can't we vote whether Jewish people can be barred from having driver's liscenses? Or why can't we vote to exclude Atheists from getting food stamps or public housing support?

This is the U S of A, right? Don't we have a grand tradition of voting away the rights and protections of classes of people that are not in the majority? Isn't that the purpose of the Constitution?

[talkstocoyotes]

09:02 AM on 03/19/2011

If we can vote away rights and protections, let's get going on a national referendum to do away with any and all tax breaks for religious institutions. We can't afford anymore to subsidize anyone's lifestyle choice.

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:43 PM on 03/19/2011

Exactly! We need to get the churches and other groups to start paying their fair share. So many of them love to meddle in politics. Let them start paying for the priviledge.

[Laughert9]

11:28 PM on 03/18/2011

Equal rights should not be open to vote. I'm sure dome racists are still against interracial marriage.

[Grabski]

11:13 PM on 03/18/2011

And yet has never been passed by actual majority of voters....

[VeritasVincit2]

11:37 PM on 03/18/2011

and yet you tr0ll another thread

[Grabski]

09:37 AM on 03/19/2011

Stating a fact is trolling?

[Cori527]

12:06 AM on 03/19/2011

"And yet has never been passed by actual majority of voters.... "

And when it does, as it inevitably will, what will you say then?

[mercury613]

01:57 PM on 03/19/2011

They'll make up random nonsense, like they always do when they don't have the truth on their side.

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:53 PM on 03/19/2011

I'm with Mercury. They will just dream up more nonsense.

[useyourbrain]

11:09 PM on 03/18/2011

Reproduction and adoption are separate and unrelated issues to the question of marriage equality.
Since there is no State in the Union that requires a couple to reproduce, replicated, adopt or raise children the subject should be dropped. I don't even think any State marriage laws even mention children.

The fact of the matter is, women can birth babies without being married. The fact of the matter is people can be married who don't want to have children or who cannot have children. There is no age limitation for marriage either so women past child-bearing years can still be married.

The true history of marriage is property and property rights. It was such an ordeal that men had to be bribed with dowery swag -- money, property, houses and even goats! So much for the sanctity of marriage that the early Christian Church was against marriage lest it lead to man's baser (natural) instincts. Societies have supported multiple wives for men, mistresses, concubines (it's in the Bible!)

For any marriage in the US to be legal, it has to be recognized by the Civil Authority -- the State so even if you go to the most evangelical of ceremonies, unless that certificate is signed by a representative of the State (clerk, minister, priest, rabbi, etc.), it ain't valid.

Marriage, at its very foundation is a civil right.

[Cori527]

12:13 AM on 03/19/2011

Well spoken! F&F

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:55 PM on 03/19/2011

Fanned and faved! Excellently-said! That is the sad thing about these haters. They want to lay burdens on us (forbidding us marriage) that they would never tolerate being laid on them. That makes them hypocrites.

[bsultan]

11:05 PM on 03/18/2011

So in America, Hugh Heffner can marry a child, married presidents can have affairs, high-profile celebrities are having more sex outside of their marriage than in it, but two people of the same sex aren't permitted to marry because it's a threat to traditional values and the sanctity of marriage?

Here's hoping that this issue is supported at least by mainstream democrats support soon!

[KAK1958]

10:46 PM on 03/18/2011

I found it interesting that those opposed to gay marriage questioned the integrity of the poll results because of the way the question was asked: "Do you think it should be illegal or legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?" One spokesperson said the use of the word "illegal" made it a very loaded question, implying that same sex couples would be arrested if they entered into marriage.

No, I think "illegal" means you can't get married. If two gay men or two lesbians walk into a courthouse in Texas and try to marry each other, they would be told they can't. It's illegal. Even if they went through a church ceremony, it still would not be recognized as legal by civil authorities. They wouldn't be arrested for being married because they couldn't get married.

I'm assuming their preferred question would be "Do you think it's wrong for gay and lesbian couples to get married? But if you want to go that route, how about trying "Do you think it's wrong for an 18-year-old girl to marry an 80-year-old man?" Many of those polled would probably say yes. But it's legal.

This issue is all about legality. You're never going to change the minds of those who think it's immoral, but that could be said of gambling, pornography and many other things in our society. You don't have to like it.

[Cori527]

12:16 AM on 03/19/2011

"This issue is all about legality. You're never going to change the minds of those who think it's immoral, but that could be said of gambling, pornograph­y and many other things in our society. You don't have to like it. "

Precisely. Lots of good writing up here tonight.

[J Michael Norris]

04:14 AM on 03/19/2011

I'm sure you're aware that the Texas GOP official platform calls for making the performance of a gay marriage into a felony, right? That would, actually, get you arrested, like most felonies do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/22/texas-gop-platform-advoca_n_619601.html

I probably shouldn't go into the fact that it also wants to take away parental rights from gays and lesbians (even if they are the only surviving biological parent) and pushes to exclude gays and lesbians from protection of the ADA when disabled.

That's good old GOP hate, but Texas-style!

http://static.texastribune.org/media/documents/FINAL_2010_STATE_REPUBLICAN_PARTY_PLATFORM.pdf

[tosc]

10:32 PM on 03/18/2011

I agree with SocialistDistortion, gay marriage is the least of our concerns! Equality is equality, for everyone....not for the self proclaimed right.

[A-Superstitionist]

09:59 PM on 03/18/2011

It is inevitable. Same sex marriage will become legal just as women's right to vote, mixed race marriage, gay rights, ... have and just as slavery has ended. In the end, reason always wins over superstition. Let's send all superstitions to the dark ages of the distant past where they belong.

[jedwightn]

09:15 PM on 03/18/2011

Time to stop this legal discrimination and recognize gay marriage for what it is, people who love each other bonding as a family.

[palisades02]

09:23 PM on 03/18/2011

Is that your definition for Heterosexual Divorce as well?

[Quaoar]

09:27 PM on 03/18/2011

Just like an infertile straight couple?