A first: More Americans support same-sex marriage than oppose it

A sociologist at Southern Illinois University has examined data from the General Social Survey data and found that in 2010, for the first time, more Americans support same-sex marriage than oppose it.

Darren Sherkat writes:

With no fanfare or press conference from a gaggle of right-wing propagandists, the 2010 edition of the General Social Survey was released to the unwashed public (that would be me) this week. ... For the first time, a legitimate scientific survey is showing very clearly that the proportion of Americans who agree or strongly agree that same sex marriage should be legal exceeds the proportion who either oppose or strongly oppose marital rights. 46% of Americans favor civil rights, while 40% oppose civil rights, and the remainder just can’t seem to decide. Of course, this is an incredible shift from the first time the question was asked in 1988–when 73% of Americans opposed marital rights, but it is also a seismic change from 2004, when only 30% of Americans supported marriage rights for same sex couples, and 56% opposed civil rights.

Sarah Posner at Religion Dispatches has more.

Posted by Jim Naughton on February 28, 2011 10:46 AM | |
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