Support for same-sex marriage dips for the first time in nearly a decade: Survey

Americans’ support for same-sex marriage Dropped This is the first time in about 10 years, according to new data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

Data from PRRI’s American Values ​​Atlas (AVA) survey shows that from 2022 to 2023, support for same-sex marriage declined by two points, from 69 percent to 67 percent. The last time Americans’ support for same-sex marriage declined in the same survey was while 2014 and 2015, from 54-53 percent.

The survey also showed that support for non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people has declined for the first time since 2018. Americans’ support for these protections peaked at 80% in 2022, but fell to 76% last year.

“Our research shows that support for LGBTQ rights will decline slightly from 2022 to 2023, but a majority of Americans continue to support anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans and the right to marry for same-sex couples. “We support it,” said CEO Melissa Deckman. PRRI’s Said said in a statement in a press release on Tuesday.

“The growing partisan divide on these issues demonstrates the impact of the continued use of LGBTQ identity and rights as a wedge issue in our nation’s culture wars,” Deckman continued.

In January, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that state legislatures had already introduced more than 275 bills aimed at LGBTQ rights, demonstrating the growing attention given to LGBTQ rights by conservative legislatures. did. The bill targets issues such as gender-affirming care for youth and adults, students’ right to choose their gender in schools, transgender student-athletes, and LGBTQ speech restrictions.

ACLU attorney Harper Seldin said at the time: “Transgender people across the country are being harassed by extremist politics aimed at erasing us from public life, and are threatening to destroy our bodies and lives. “We are enduring historic and dangerous efforts to control the world.”

The American Values ​​Atlas survey was conducted by PRRI from March 9 to December 7, 2023 among a sample of 22,465 adults. The margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is plus or minus 0.82 percentage points, and the study design effect is 1.56.