U.S.A.: Republican support for same-sex marriage is lowest in a decade, Gallup Poll finds

Marriage for same-sex couples has been legal throughout the United States following the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges ten years ago. Since that pivotal 2015 ruling, Democratic support for same-sex marriage has consistently increased. However, Republican support has decreased by 14 points from its peak of 55% in 2021 and 2022, according to a Gallup report released on Thursday.

In the most recent Gallup Poll, 41% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats stated that marriages between same-sex couples should be “recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.” This 47-point disparity is the largest since Gallup began asking this question in 1996. The report also revealed that 76% of independents and 68% of all U.S.A. adults surveyed support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

As ‘NBC News’ reports, a separate question on whether “gay or lesbian relations” are “morally acceptable or morally wrong” showed a similar political trend, with 86% of Democrats, 69% of independents, and 38% of Republicans responding “morally acceptable.”

When analysed by nonpolitical subgroups, women, younger people, and college graduates were more likely to support same-sex marriage and find same-sex relations morally acceptable compared to men, older individuals, and those without a college degree.

The authors of the Gallup report highlighted that the “widening political divide suggests potential vulnerabilities in the durability of LGBTQ+ rights” in the nation. The report referenced Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling—which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights—suggesting that the high court “should reconsider” some past rulings, including the 2015 decision on same-sex marriage.

Additionally, as reported earlier this year, legislators in at least nine states have introduced proposals aimed at eroding the marriage rights of same-sex couples.