Record high: Poll finds that 59% of Americans now support same-sex marriage
A new poll has found that support for same-sex marriage in the US is at a record high, as 59% said they supported the right of gay couples to tie the knot.
The Washington Post and ABC News poll found that 59% supported the right of gay couples to get married, while 34% opposed.
It noted the rapid shift in opinion across the US, and that since an earlier poll, the opinions on this issue have been reversed.
The study found that half of respondents agreed that “gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry”. Many agreed that “a large majority also said businesses should not be able to deny serving gays for religious reasons.”
The Post reports: “Support for same-sex marriage has changed more rapidly than almost any social issue in the past decade. In a Post-ABC poll in March 2004, 38 percent said same-sex marriage should be legal, while 59 percent said it should not, the same percentage now in favor of allowing gays to marry.”
Across the 33 states which currently ban same-sex marriage there was still a majority in favour of allowing same-sex marriage with 53% against 40%.
