In this Aug. 29, 2012, file photo, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, waves to the delegates during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Portman said Thursday, March 14, 2013 that he now supports gay marriage and says his reversal on the issue began when he learned one of his sons is gay. Knowing someone who is gay or just getting older and thinking about the issue are two big reasons the country is viewing same-sex marriage more favorably, according to a national survey. The Pew Research Center poll helps explain why Americans seem to be changing their minds on the issue and follows the recent public embrace of gay marriage by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Portman. AP FILE PHOTO/J. Scott Applewhite
WASHINGTON — Views on gay marriage in the U.S. are more favorable because of a shift in attitudes among those who know someone who is gay or became more accepting of gays and lesbians as they got older, according to a national survey.
The Pew Research Center poll also finds that a large group of younger adults who tend to be more open to gay rights is driving the numbers upward. The issue has grabbed the national spotlight again with the public embrace of same-sex marriage by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Sen. Rob Portman, the only Republican in that chamber to openly support what is still a sensitive issue for many conservatives.
“We’ve certainly seen the trend over the last 10 years,” Michael Dimock, director of the center, said Wednesday. “But we’re now really in a position to talk about the combination of generational change and personal change that have sort of brought the country to where it is today.”
Overall, the poll finds 49 percent of Americans favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, and 44 percent are opposed to the idea. That’s more people now favoring gay marriage than opposing it. A decade ago, 58 percent opposed it and a third supported it.
The 49 percent who now support same-sex marriage includes 14 percent who said they have changed their minds.
When asked why, almost one-third say it’s because they know someone who is gay — a family member, friend or acquaintance. A quarter said their personal views have changed as they thought more about the issue or just because they’ve grown older and more accepting.
Just 2 percent overall said their views have shifted against gay marriage.
Another major factor in the long-term shift in the public’s view: the so-called millennial generation of young adults born since 1980. The survey finds 70 percent of millennials favor same-sex marriage.
Gay marriage has long been an issue of partisan political debate, but it has resurfaced as the Supreme Court prepares to take up the issue.
On Monday, Clinton announced her support for gay marriage — lining up with other potential Democratic presidential candidates who favor it.
In an online video released by the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, Clinton says gays and lesbians are “full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship.”
And last week, Portman reversed course and said he now supports gay marriage. He said he had a change of heart after he learned one of his sons is gay.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a challenge to a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act — the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. It’s also reviewing California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
The Pew Research findings are based on a survey of 1,501 adults nationwide conducted Mar. 13-Mar. 17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.