Marriage Update

Two years since being legalized nationwide, more than half of voters continue to support same-sex marriage.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters favor gay marriage. That’s up just slightly from 51% last year and the highest level of support since Rasmussen Reports first began asking the question in 2013.

Thirty-four percent (34%) still oppose gay marriage, but that is down from 37% a year ago and the lowest level of opposition to date. Another 14% are still undecided on the issue. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Thirty-nine percent (39%) still think laws governing marriage should be established by the federal government, tying the high reached last June. Nearly as many (37%) think marriage laws should be established on a state level, while 10% think they should be a local issue. This is generally in line with earlier surveys. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure which level of government should be in charge of marriage laws.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 26-27, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a suburban Denver baker who was prosecuted for refusing for religious reasons to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Most voters agree the baker has the right to say no.

Majorities of Democrats and voters not affiliated with either major party support gay marriage, while more than half of Republicans still oppose it. GOP voters are also more likely to think marriage laws should be established on the state level, while 44% of Democrats want them handled federally. Unaffiliated voters are split between the two.

Similarly, most self-identified moderates and liberals support same-sex marriage, while more than half of conservatives oppose it.

More than half of voters under 65 now favor gay marriage, while voters over 65 are evenly split. But across all age groups, they’re still fairly divided over whether the federal government or state governments should establish laws governing marriage.

Women are stronger supporters of same-sex marriage than men are.

At least half of white and other minority voters support same sex marriage. Black voters are evenly divided, 42% to 42%, between support and opposition. White voters are the strongest supporters of the federal government establishing marriage laws.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters who Strongly Approve of the job President Trump is doing oppose gay marriage. Seventy-four percent (74%) who Strongly Disapprove of Trump favor it.

This month also marks one year since the mass shooting terror attack at Pulse Nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, Americans saw such an attack coming.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of all voters say they personally would be willing to vote for an openly gay president. Voters under 40 are a lot more enthusiastic about the prospect than their elders are.

Just 43% of all Americans favor openly gay and lesbian individuals in the pulpit.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of American Adults still think it is at least somewhat important for children to grow up in a home with both of their parents, including 63% who think it’s Very Important.

Overall, more Americans see a brighter future for the kids. Thirty-one percent (31%) now think today’s children will be better off than their parents, up seven points from the last time we asked in October 2014. For roughly two years prior to that, the number who thought today’s kids would be better off hovered in the high teens.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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