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 »
Why Public Opinion is Shifting on Gay Marriage (And Why It Isn’t on Gun Control)
Support for same-sex marriage has become a mainstream political position at head-spinning speed, but that is far from true when it comes to gun control. The diverging trajectory is in a sense bewildering. There are no bandwagons for new gun safety laws, no senators rushing to the cause on a […] 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 »