Support for LGBT Rights On the Rise

By Loren Siegel

A Pew study conducted this year shows that 19 percent of Americans report that in the last five years they have become “more supportive” of rights for gay and lesbian people (73 percent report “no change” and only 6 percent say they have become “more opposed”). In a single decade, gay and lesbian relations have gone from being considered “morally wrong” to “morally acceptable” by a majority of Americans. Overall support for marriage equality increased by thirteen points in just three years, from 38 percent in 2008 to 51 percent in 2011 (2011 Religion & Political Tracking Survey, Public Religion Research Institute). This is an unusually rapid shift for a “hot button issue.”

The diminishing stigma attached to being lesbian or gay has allowed for greater openness, and one result is that a majority of Americans (63 percent) today from all backgrounds – Republicans, Democrats, Independents, white, African American and Latino–say they have close friends or relatives who are gay or lesbian (Washington Post-ABC News, February 4-8, 2010; Quinnipiac University Poll, April 21-27, 2009). And nearly eight in 10 Americans say they know someone who is gay or lesbian, a percentage that has increased by 35 points since 1992 (CBS News Poll, May 20-24, 2010). Americans under thirty are even more likely to know someone who is gay or lesbian (84% say they do), and even a majority of those over 65 know someone (66% say they do) (CBS News Poll, May 20-24, 2010). This is noteworthy because knowing someone who is gay or lesbian is positively correlated with support for gay rights (Quinnipiac University Poll, April 21-27, 2009).

Recent research helps us identify obstacles and important entry points for building on this overall favorable trend:

  • Religiosity and religious affiliation are critical factors: There are stark differences across religious groups, and those who attend worship services often, regardless of denomination, are less supportive of gay and lesbian rights than those who seldom or never attend services. (2010 Annual Religion and Public Life Survey, Pew Research Center/Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life).
  • Americans are trending towards the belief that homosexuality is “something a person is born with” and not due to “upbringing” or “choice”. From 1977 to 2009 the percentage of people who believe it is something you are born with rose by 23 points, from 13 percent to 36 percent (Gallup, May 25, 2010). In December 2010, 63 percent disagreed with the statement, “Homosexual orientation can be changed,” and only 27 percent agreed, with 10 percent unsure (2010 Religion & Politics Tracking Survey, Public Religion Research Institute). These views are strongly correlated with support or opposition to expanding LGBT rights: 65 percent of those who think people are born gay support marriage equality compared to 15 percent among those who say being gay is a personal choice (Quinnipiac University Poll, April 21-27, 2009).
  • A majority of Americans perceive that LGBT people face “a lot of discrimination” and the public is therefore supportive of a range of anti-discrimination laws (2009 Religion and Public Life Survey, Pew Research Center).
  • Support for marriage equality is at an all-time high, with slightly more than 50 percent of the general public on board (ABC News/Washington Post Poll, March 18, 2011). The biggest supporters are women (54 percent approval), younger people (61 percent approval), white mainline Protestants (53 percent approval), Catholics (57 percent approval), and Jews (76 percent approval) (Pew Research Center, August-September 2010). A number of statewide polls also show growing support for marriage equality.
  • In a survey exploring attitudes towards “New Family Types,” gay/lesbian couples raising children was viewed as no worse (and no better) than people living together without being married and unmarried couples raising children (Pew Research Center, “The Decline of Marriage And Rise of New Families,” November 18, 2010). The softening of attitudes about same-sex couples raising children is reflected in rising support for gay adoption rights. Support for gay adoption rose by eight points between 2007 and 2009, from 46 to 54 percent (Gallup, September 7-8, 2007; May 7-10, 2009).