The majority of Republicans ages 18 to 29 think gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry, according to a Pew Research poll.
Sixty-one percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican in that age group favor legalizing gay marriage.
While a majority of Democrats regardless of age support gay marriage, Republican views divide strikingly along generational lines, with support dropping precipitously among older members of the party. The youngest cohort is nearly three times more likely to support gay marriage than those 65 and over.
Just 18 percent of Republicans under 30 said that more gay and lesbian couples raising children is a bad thing, compared to about half of those ages 30-64, and 66 percent of those 65 and older.
Overall backing for gay marriage continues to grow, with some pollsters finding support now nearing 60 percent.
Although gay rights issues have been prominent in the news lately, they went virtually unmentioned at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, where a majority of attendees were under 25.
"Most of my friends just think it's not an issue," one 22-year-old student told The Huffington Post at the conference.
The Pew Research poll surveyed 1,821 adults by phone between Feb. 14 and Feb. 23.
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