Latest Poll: Record 55% of Americans Now Support Same-Sex Marriage
Some 55 percent of Americans now say they support same-sex marriage, the highest number since Gallup polling on the question began in the 1990s, according to a new Gallup poll.
Support has been climbing for gay marriages, growing from 40 percent to 53 percent between 2009 and 2011-2012, with the most recent numbers before showing 54 percent support in 2012. In 1996, the first time Gallup completed a same-sex-marriage survey, 68 percent were opposed. Then, in 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage (10 years ago this month), support reached 42 percent.
Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, though several states are in the midst of legal battles, appealing judges' rulings overturning bans on same-sex marriage, according to Gallup.