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 »
Why the Culture Wars Now Favor Democrats
It’s no coincidence that gay marriage, gun control, and immigration are all in the news this month. Their prominence measures a critical political shift: In the culture wars, the offense and defense have switched sides. For decades after the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, Republicans regularly provoked confrontations on a […] Read more »
Shift in Virginia on same-sex marriage
… A new poll shows Virginians are essentially split on same-sex marriage, less than seven years after they easily passed an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. While 46 percent of Virginians oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally […] Read more »
Do Supreme Court Rulings Reflect the Culture, or Change It?
Does the Supreme Court have the power to change the culture, or does our culture influence the decisions of the justices? A conversation with NYU law professor Barry Friedman. Read more »
Yes, More Americans Favor Legalizing Gay Marriage, But Just How Many Do?
Recent polling clearly shows that Americans are much more accepting of same-sex marriage than they were a decade ago. All of the major national polls now find more supporters than opponents of same-sex marriage. But there is no consensus in the polling as to just how many Americans now actually […] Read more »