Growth Of Support For Legal Same-Sex Marriage 2005-2015

As we wait for the Supreme Court to finally decide that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional (hopefully), I bring you one more survey on the growing acceptance of those marriages in this country. This time it's the Pew Research Center. Their survey was done between May 12th and 18th of a random national sample of 2,002 adults, and has a margin of error of 2.5 points (5 points for Republicans, 4.5 points for Democrats, 4.1 points for Independents, 5.3 points for Millennials, 5.2 points for Generation X, 4.2 points for Baby Boomers, and 6.2 points for the Silent Generation).

The top chart shows the growth of support in the last decade for the general public (21 points) -- and for Democrats (12 points), Independents (19 points), and Republicans (15 points). The general public (57%), Democrats (65%), and Independents (65%) all show significant majorities favoring the legalization of same-sex marriages. Only the Republicans (34%) continue to show minority support.

The second chart above shows the breakdown by generation (and political belief in each generation). The largest support comes from Millennials (where even young Republicans show majority support) -- and that support diminishes with each older generation. It seems fairly obvious that support will continue to grow in the future, as older Americans die off and are replaced by younger citizens.

The top chart below is very interesting to me, because it shows that Americans believe this is a battle that has been won (regardless of what the Supreme Court might decide. Significant majorities of every generation now believe that legalized same-sex marriages in all states is inevitable.

The bottom chart is not necessarily about same-sex marriage, but about the growing acceptance of homosexuality in general. It asked those in each generation if they would be upset to learn their child was gay or lesbian. Only the Silent Generation showed a negative majority. The Baby Boomers were split on the issue -- with a majority saying they would not be upset (but the split was within the margin of error of the survey). Huge majorities of Generation X and the Millennials say it would not upset them.