Psychology researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have discovered a correlation between opposition to same-sex marriage and the belief that all gay people are sexually promiscuous, and have published their study in the Psychological Science journal.

"Many people who oppose same-sex marriage are uncomfortable with casual sex and feel threatened by sexual promiscuity," said David Pinsof, lead author of the study. "Sexual promiscuity may be threatening to these people because it provides more temptations for spouses to cheat on one another."

Pinsof added that people surveyed who opposed same-sex marriage had "a hard time disassociating 'gay' and 'promiscuous,'" and most often were people who married at a young age, had more children, and believed in traditional gender roles.

An overwhelming majority of those people, he believes, feel insecure about themselves and their own relationships:

"On the other hand, for people who are comfortable with women being more economically independent, marrying at a later age and having more sexual partners, sexual promiscuity is not as much of a threat because women do not depend on men for financial support.

...

Opposition to same-sex marriage may be strategic by people who are seeking to protect their marriages and the marriages in their communities, and are fearful that changing the definition of marriage is threatening to their way of life. Because they view gay people as promiscuous, they view the idea of same-sex marriage as undermining the institution of marriage."

According to the most recent Pew research, a majority of Americans (55%) support same-sex marriage, compared with 39% who oppose it.

h/t LGBTQ Nation