Ten years after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, most Americans support the high court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
However, the latest national polling on the issue indicates that there is now a record partisan divide over support for legalized same-sex marriage.
Ten years ago, the U.S. became the 17th nation in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than three-quarters of a million same-sex couples are now wedded across the country.
The case focused on whether state bans on same-sex marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court’s ruling, which stated that the right to marry is a fundamental right guaranteed to same-sex couples, struck down those existing state bans on same-sex marriage.
Sixty percent of American adults supported same-sex marriage in May 2015, a month before the Supreme Court’s historic decision, according to Gallup polling.
A decade later, a Gallup poll that was conducted May 1-18 indicated support among adults nationwide now stands at 68%.
Gallup noted that support has hovered between 68% and 71% since 2021, but Gallup highlighted that “this stability in Americans’ backing for same-sex marriage masks shifts in partisans’ views over the same period.”
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Democrats’ support for same-sex marriage now stands at 88%, a record high, and support among the nation’s independents stands at 76%, just shy of a record in Gallup polling.
However, Republican support has sunk to 41%, down from 55% earlier this decade. Gallup noted that GOP backing of same-sex marriage is at “the lowest point since 2016 after the Obergefell decision.”
In a separate question, the Gallup survey indicated that just under two-thirds of Americans (64%) considered gay or lesbian relations to be morally acceptable. That is down from a high point of 71% three years ago.
“As with their views of same-sex marriage, partisans’ attitudes have shifted in opposite directions in recent years, and the gap between Democrats’ and Republicans’ acceptance has widened to its largest point,” Gallup highlighted.
Eighty-six percent of Democrats — which is a new high in Gallup polling — said gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable. Sixty-nine percent of independents agreed.
However, only 38% of Republicans said gay or lesbian relationships are morally acceptable, their lowest level since 2012.
The widening partisan divide over support for same-sex marriage comes as some conservatives in recent years have called for the high court to overturn the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a 2022 opinion that the justices “should reconsider” past rulings, including the 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
Since then, conservative lawmakers in some states have introduced resolutions asking the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark decision.
Additionally, last week, the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest protestant denomination, adopted a resolution that in part calls for the overturning of the high court ruling.