Data shows dramatically increasing support for marriage equality among all political groups

With increasing evidence that the tide of public opinion has moved decidedly in favour of marriage equality, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today is urging both local and national media to reflect this growing public consensus across political party lines, when reporting on this issue.

Data, such as the study released this week by top pollsters for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama (commissioned by Freedom to Marry), are consistently showing an American public that wants to ensure that all loving couples are able to marry, regardless of sexual orientation. These beliefs are not tied to party affiliation and, particularly for the younger demographic, Americans across the board hold them with increasingly strong conviction.

We ask that any journalist who is reporting on these stories take the following into consideration:

• Republican and Democratic pollsters Jan van Lohuizen and Joel Benenson argue in their July 27, 2011, memo based on public polling data that support for marriage for gay and lesbian couples is increasing at an accelerating rate. Moreover, this shift is being driven by Independents, a politically crucial group.1 Among the findings is that public support for marriage equality has increased over the years, and that the rate of increase has accelerated dramatically in the last 2 years. The memo says, “It is clear that the public is in the process of rethinking its position on the issue, with all political groups — Democrats, Independents as well as Republicans — and all age groups more likely to support marriage for same-sex couples.” This pattern is expected to become more profound over time with the growing influence of young people, given that younger adults are found to be substantially more supportive of marriage equality than older adults, although older Americans and Republicans are increasingly aligned in support of marriage for all. The authors of the study also concluded, “The intensity of opinion is changing at a rapid pace. As of today, supporters of marriage for gay couples feel as strongly about the issue as opponents do, something that was not the case in the recent past.”
• Based on polling data compiled by The New York Times, the 4 percentage-point shift in favour of marriage equality that has occurred over the last two years is double the long-term rate of change – between 1 and 2 percentage-points – seen since 1988. This finding suggests that support is not only growing, but that it may be doing so at an accelerated rate. The New York Times also noted that, if the accelerated rate of change remains constant, supporters of marriage equality could outnumber opponents 56-40 percent in the general population by 2012.2
• A Quinnipiac University poll held this month found that 59% of respondents oppose federal legislation that denies eligibility for federal benefits to gay and lesbian spouses. This number has increased since 2009, when 54% of respondents opposed the legislation. Many who did not necessarily support marriage equality still believed that federal benefits should not be withheld from lesbian and gay couples.3
• A Gallup poll held in May of this year showed 53% of respondents believed that marriages between lesbian and gay couples should be “recognised by the law as valid compared to 45% who believed they should not. These numbers differ significantly from the poll’s 2009 results, when only 40% of respondents supported legal recognition of these marriages while 57% were opposed.4
• The Public Religion Research Institute released results from a poll held in May showing 51% of respondents support legal marriage for lesbian and gay couples.5
• In March, ABC News and the Washington Post conducted a poll that asked whether lesbian and gay couples should be allowed to legally marry. 51% of respondents said they thought it should be legal, a 17 percentage-point increase from the 2006 polling results. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents opposed to allowing lesbian and gay couples to legally marry has decreased by 14 percentage-points since 2006.6
• A poll held by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation in April of this year showed 51% of respondents were in favour of legal recognition for marriages for gay and lesbian couples, while only 47% were opposed.7
• In 2008, the same poll found 44% of respondents in favour and 53% opposed.