Half of Americans see gay marriage as a constitutional right

Half of Americans see gay marriage as a constitutional right

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll reveals that half of Americans see gay marriage as a constitutional right, versus 43 percent who don't. Public opinion has rapidly shifted on gay marriage in recent years, and 19 states and the District of Columbia now allow gay couples to legally wed.

Unsurprisingly, the poll shows that age and ideology are closely correlated with opinions on gay marriage. Seventy-seven percent of respondents younger than 30 support gay marriage, compared to 38 percent of seniors. Eighty-four percent of liberals back gay marriage, and 62 percent of moderates do, too. Among those who describe themselves as "somewhat conservative," gay marriage gets 37 percent support, compared to just 22 percent among people who are "very conservative."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.