Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has significantly changed since the 1990s,[2] and an overwhelming majority of Americans now favor same-sex marriage.[3]
Approval of same-sex marriage is higher in younger generations;[4] among 18–34 year olds, support is near-universal.[5] From 1988 to 2009, support for recognized same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year, and accelerated thereafter,[6] rising above 50% in Pew Research Center polling for the first time in 2011.[7] A 2022 Public Religion Research Institute poll found that a majority of people in every state support same-sex marriage except in Mississippi, where there is plurality support.[8]
A 2023 New York Times/Siena poll found that 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage and 22% oppose it.[9] Garretson (2018) writes: "The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling."[2]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a dramatic wave began to form in the waters of public opinion: American attitudes involving homosexuality began to change... The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling.
The vast majority of Americans (70%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, compared to 28% of Americans who oppose it. Majorities of Democrats (80%) and independents (76%), as well as half of Republicans (50%), support same-sex marriage.