Why Has Support for Same-sex Marriage Dipped?

When it comes to support for same-sex marriage in America, it seems things are going backward according to new data from the Public Religion Research Institute.

As reported by The Hill, support for same-sex marriage has dropped for the first time in around a decade, with data from PRRI showing a drop from 69 percent to 67 percent from 2022 to 2023.

According to survey data, the last time support for same-sex marriage dropped was between 2014 and 2015, decreased 54 to 53 percent.

And that's not all. Support for LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections has also fallen for the first time since 2018. The peak of support for non-discrimination protections was in 2022 at 80 percent, decreasing to 76 percent last year.

In a press release, PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman commented on the data findings by addressing the potential shift in attitudes among Americans.

"Our survey shows that support for LGBTQ rights has dipped slightly from 2022 to 2023, although the vast majority of Americans continue to endorse anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans and the rights of same-sex couples to marry," she said. "The growing partisan divide on these issues show the effect of the continuous use of LGBTQ identity and LGBTQ rights as a wedge issue in our nation's culture wars."

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), state legislatures had already introduced 275 anti-LGBTQ bills in January, targeting gender reaffirming care, restrictions on LGBTQ speech and transgender students.

"Transgender people across the country are enduring a historic and dangerous effort to control our bodies and our lives, fueled by extremist politics with the goal of erasing us from public life," said ACLU attorney Harper Seldin.

PRRI's American Values Atlas survey included 22,465 adults, surveyed from March 9 to Dec. 7, 2023.