More Americans than ever support the right for same-sex couples to marry, a new Gallup poll finds.
In a survey of about 1,000 U.S. adults conducted last month, 71% of respondents said they support the legal right to same-sex marriage, beating last year’s record by one percentage point. The findings are up from 42% in 2004, when Massachusetts first legalized same-sex marriage. Support reached 58% in July 2015, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case that affirmed same-sex marriage under the 14th Amendment.
While only 40% of people who said they attend church weekly said they support same-sex marriage, the right found support in 70% of respondents who said they attend church nearly weekly or at least monthly. Eighty-two percent of people who never attend church said they support same-sex marriage, in keeping with trends analyzed by Gallup since 2004.
Same-sex marriage and abortion are among the issues supported by a majority of Americans — but not necessarily their lawmakers. State and local officials have been ramping up legislative efforts targeting LGBTQ people, and especially transgender Americans.
Last year saw the highest number of anti-LGBTQ legislation enacted at the state level in recent history, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The American Civil Liberties Union has compiled a list of more than 300 bills that have been newly introduced or carried over from last year’s legislative session. They include attempts to limit or block gender-affirming care for transgender children, which medical experts say is life-saving, as well as gag rules that mirror the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida.
Widespread support for same-sex marriage also comes as the U.S. awaits the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, for which an opinion draft written by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked last month. The draft opinion would overturn Roe v. Wade, stripping abortion rights.
If Roe were to fall, that could also prompt the court to target other protections grounded in a constitutional right to privacy. In his dissent to the 2015 Obergefell decision, Alito said “it is beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among” rights rooted in American tradition.
“Obergefell and Roe are landmark decisions for a reason: because they ensure freedoms and protections and are fully supported by a wide majority of Americans,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “If anything, Congress and the Supreme Court should move to reflect the will of the people by codifying protections against discrimination.”
