The gay marriage movement is racing forward faster than ever, and with a new burst of life. … Indeed, demographic models indicate that if put up for a vote, same-sex marriage would become legal in all but six states by 2020! Even Mississippi is projected to be up to near [...] Read more »
Record-High Say Gay, Lesbian Relations Morally OK
Americans’ views toward a number of moral issues have shifted significantly since 2001. Their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years — to a record high of 59% today. Americans’ tolerance toward having a baby outside of marriage [...] Read more »
Remember Civil Unions? The Shifting Middle Way in the Same-sex Marriage Debate
May 2013 is only half over, but it has been an eventful month for same-sex marriage legislation: Rhode Island, Delaware, and Minnesota all legalized same-sex marriage, bringing the total number of states with such laws to 12. Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn called on the state House of Representatives to [...] Read more »
Same-Sex Marriage Support Solidifies Above 50%
Fifty-three percent of Americans say the law should recognize same-sex marriages, the third consecutive reading of 50% or above in Gallup polling over the past year. The 53% in favor ties the high to this point, also measured last November and in May 2011. Gallup’s May 2-7 poll suggests Americans’ [...] Read more »
Majority Acceptance of Gays From the B-ball Court to the Boy Scouts
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds further public acceptance of gay rights in the United States, in areas ranging from the professional basketball court to the Boy Scouts, as well as the institution of marriage. [cont.] Gary Langer, ABC News Read more »
Crunching The Numbers On Blacks’ Views On Gays
… “How do you measure ‘virulent’ homophobia versus ‘regular’ homophobia?” mused Greg Lewis, a political scientist at Georgia State University who has published several studies on the views of blacks and whites on homosexuality. I chatted with Lewis today about what the polls might tell us about black views on [...] Read more »
If gay marriage and pot are now OK, why isn’t abortion?
As abortion opponents are scoring a string of victories in the states, it raises a question: why are conservatives gaining ground in this one arena, even if they’re losing in the battle over gay marriage and marijuana? A few factors help explain this contradiction. [cont.] Juliet Eilperin & Scott Clement, [...] Read more »
Latinos move in favor of gay marriage
More Hispanics than ever say that they are in favor of gay marriage, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo oversample of 300 Latino voters. By a 49 percent to 43 percent margin, Latinos say they are in favor of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. That’s the widest [...] Read more »
53 percent support gay marriage
Two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two highly publicized gay-marriage cases, a majority of Americans continue to say they support same-sex marriage, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Fifty-three percent of respondents favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, which is [...] Read more »
Immigration and Political Clout
Two hot-button social issues seem to be moving to some sort of political resolution rather quickly. Their stories tell us something about the nature of attitudes Americans hold on such topics and also about the nature of American politics. [cont.] Claude Fischer, UC Berkeley Recent polls: Immigration | Marriage Read more »