WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new poll suggests that, after steep declines in the recent past, Americans' support for legal recognition of same-sex couples is rebounding.
The statistics came from a survey released Aug. 3 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. They show that a majority of Americans support recognition of same-sex relationships through “civil unions,” which have many of the same benefits and responsibilities as marriage.
Likewise, the poll suggests a growing minority support full marriage rights for gay couples.
The results, based on two separate surveys conducted in July and involving about 3,500 adults, showed that a majority of the public — 53 percent — now supports civil unions for same-sex couples. That is up from a figure of 48 percent in August 2004.
Meanwhile, support for legalizing same-sex marriage increased to 36 percent from 32 percent in December 2004. Both are an increase from the low of 29 percent, reached in the summer of 2004.
Polls generally showed declines in support for gay marriage and civil unions after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the practice legalized in that state in 2003.
Likewise, the survey showed that support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide had decreased slightly. In the most recent survey, 29 percent of respondents said they supported such legislation, down from 35 percent in the summer of 2004.
The study showed a significant increase in support for gay civil unions among white evangelical Protestants, despite strong opposition among most evangelical leaders. The percentage of white evangelicals expressing support for legalizing such unions increased from 26 percent in December 2004 to 35 percent in the most recent survey.
However, the poll found little change in Americans' opinions on other social issues currently making headlines.
A fairly constant 65 percent of Americans oppose overturning Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. However, a similarly unchanged portion — 73 percent — support parental-consent laws for minors seeking abortions.
The poll also found that a majority of Americans — 57 percent — support embryonic stem-cell research, even if it destroys human embryos in the process. The figure reflected majority support among all major religious subgroups surveyed except white evangelical Protestants.