Acceptance of same-sex marriage in the United States has flattened after more than two decades of steadily increasing support, with an ongoing decline among Republicans driving the shift, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday. About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% recorded in both 2022 and 2023.
The change is largely attributable to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the survey conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable. The views of Democrats and independents remain largely stable, with majorities in both groups saying same-sex marriage should be legal and that gay or lesbian relations are moral.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates point to the stability in Democratic and independent support as evidence that majority American sentiment remains firmly behind marriage equality. LGBTQ+ rights organizations have emphasized that despite recent legislative efforts, more than 800,000 same-sex couples were married by last year, according to data compiled by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups argue that the slight decline in overall support reflects partisan political messaging rather than a fundamental shift in American values. They note that even with the decrease, roughly two-thirds of Americans still support legal same-sex marriage, far exceeding the minority who oppose it.
The community also points to recent court victories as evidence of institutional backing for marriage rights. When a call to overturn the 2015 Supreme Court ruling reached the high court last year, justices turned away the appeal without comment, leaving the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision intact.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative groups argue that the Gallup findings reflect genuine concerns about federal overreach on marriage policy and the importance of preserving religious liberty. The Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly called in 2024 for reversing the ruling that led to nationwide marriage recognition and imposing a ban, demonstrating continued opposition among some religious communities.
Republican legislators in multiple states have introduced measures challenging same-sex marriage recognition. According to an Associated Press analysis compiled by Plural legislation tracking service, lawmakers in at least 11 states introduced legislation during current or recent sessions calling for bans on same-sex marriage. The Tennessee House passed a measure allowing private citizens and organizations not to recognize such unions, while Idaho's House passed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to undo the 2015 decision.
Conservatives also point to broader shifts in views on gender identity as indicative of changing attitudes toward LGBTQ+ issues more generally. The same Gallup poll found that about 4 in 10 Americans view changing one's gender as morally acceptable, down from nearly half in 2021.
What the Numbers Show
The historical trajectory remains striking even with recent softening. In 1996, only 27% of U.S. adults supported legal same-sex marriage. Support rose steadily for more than two decades before peaking at around 70% a few years ago. The current 65% mark represents a six-point decline from that peak.
The partisan divide is stark: 37% of Republicans currently support same-sex marriage legality, compared to roughly 90% or higher among Democrats in recent surveys. Among independents, support has remained consistently above 70%.
On the question of morality, 62% of U.S. adults now view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, down from 71% in 2022. In 2001, approximately 40% held this view, representing a nearly 30-percentage-point increase over two decades before the recent decline.
The Gallup poll was conducted May 1-17 using telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,001 U.S. adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The Bottom Line
After more than 25 years of consistent gains in public support, same-sex marriage acceptance appears to be leveling off and showing signs of modest decline. The shift is concentrated almost entirely among Republicans, while Democratic and independent views remain stable. This partisan divergence mirrors broader debates over LGBTQ+ rights at the state and federal levels. With marriage equality established by Supreme Court precedent that remains intact but faces periodic challenges, the gap between majority national support and continued Republican opposition suggests the issue will remain politically active. What to watch: whether support stabilizes at current levels or continues declining, particularly if additional states pursue legislation challenging same-sex marriage recognition.