Marriage Equality Leads To Increased Acceptance In State, Report Finds
A report released by The Williams Institute this week is stating the obvious, confirming that support for same-sex marriage is rising in all 50 states — especially in those that already have marriage equality.
The report used statistics from national surveys spanning all 50 states between 2004 and 2014 to analyze the sea change in attitudes toward same-sex marriage, and predict how that mentality is expected to grow in the future.
Unsurprisingly, the report "shows that permitting same-sex couples to marry leads to more social acceptance of same-sex marriage, not backlash against it," and found a rise in support of same-sex marriage in every single state, including those that still ban it outright.
Even states like Alabama, which currently holds the lowest overall public support at 35 percent, has a bright future.
"There have been some assertions that attitudes in states like Alabama have not changed when it comes to marriage equality,” said report co-author Andrew Flores, public opinion and policy fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. “Actually, as time goes on, those states will be the states where we should expect to see even more change."
The report also claims public support for same-sex marriage has increased on average 2.6 percent every year since 2004, and by 6.2 percent each year since 2012. By 2016, it estimates that 38 states will show public support at or above 50 percent.
And what great timing! In less than two weeks, the Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in four different cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
As predicted both by Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and President Barack Obama, the outcome will likely implement a federal marriage equality mandate.
