Gay Marriage: New Newsweek Polls Shows Big Jump in Support

In the aftermath of the passage of California's Proposition 8 last month, many prognosticators have called the 52 to 48 percent repeal of gay marriage rights in the state a major defeat. This sentiment dismisses the fact that this relatively small margin of victory is a stark improvement over the passage of the similarly-worded Proposition 22 in 2000, which passed with over 60 percent of the vote.

A new Newsweek poll seems to build on my positive take on the results. The poll, released on Friday, found that for the first time a majority of Americans (55 percent) support legally-sanctioned gay and lesbian partnerships or unions. That is a 15 percent jump since a similar poll was conducted in September 2004. That year, only 40 percent supported such unions. Gay marriage is supported by 39 percent of the population, also up from 33 percent four years ago.

Gay marriage is supported by a majority (51 percent) among those aged 18-34. Also, for the first time a majority (53 percent) supports adoption rights for gay and lesbian parents and strong majorities support gay and lesbian domestic partners' rights to inheritance (74 percent), social security benefits (67 percent), health insurance benefits (73 percent), and hospital visitation (86 percent). All of these percentage are up significantly from just four years ago when gay marriage was demonized by the right during the 2004 Presidential Election. These poll results and the failure of gay marriage to reemerge as a wedge issue during the 2008 campaign seems to indicate that Americans are indeed becoming more rational and tolerant on the matter. The arch of history is most certainly bending in the right direction.