{"id":47766,"date":"2019-05-14T09:55:56","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T14:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2019\/05\/14\/majority-of-public-favors-same-sex-marriage-but-divisions-persist\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:10:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:10:16","slug":"majority-of-public-favors-same-sex-marriage-but-divisions-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2019\/05\/14\/majority-of-public-favors-same-sex-marriage-but-divisions-persist\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of Public Favors Same-Sex Marriage, but Divisions Persist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

After years of generally steady increases, opinions about same-sex marriage are mostly unchanged since 2017. Today, a majority of Americans (61%) favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while about half as many (31%) oppose same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n\n

While attitudes about same-sex marriage are changed little from two years ago, support has increased substantially over the past two decades. In 2004, opinion was almost the reverse of what it is today: 60% opposed same-sex marriage, while just 31% were in favor.<\/p>\n\n

The Pew Research Center survey, conducted March 20-25 among 1,503 adults finds that Republicans and Democrats remain deeply divided over legal marriage for gays and lesbians \u2013 though support has increased significantly in both parties over the past 15 years.<\/p>\n\n

Today, three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor same-sex marriage, up from 43% 15 years ago. By contrast, fewer than half of Republicans and Republican leaners (44%) support same-sex marriage; in 2004, just 19% of Republicans supported it.<\/p>\n\n

Support for same-sex marriage also has increased among nearly all demographic groups over the past 15 years, including across generations<\/a> and by religious affiliation<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n