Well, I ain't registering at Cabela's just yet...

Gay marriage gets record support, 70 percent of young people support it


By Blair Mishleau,

A new bi-partisan study confirms that first time, support for gay marriage generally outweighs opposition, and the rate of increase is startling.
According to the study, the rate of increase in support for gay marriage accelerated to 5 percent per year in 2010 and 2011. Between 1996 and 2009, this rate was less than 1 percent.

Freedom to Marry, a pro-gay marriage organization, compiled poll data from Gallup, CNN/ORC, ABC/Washington Post, and Pew Research Center and others.

The Gallup poll’s 2011 data supports marriage at 53 percent, compared to just 27 percent in 1996. Pew’s data, the lowest in support at 45 percent, was also at 27 percent in 1997.

“A secondary analysis of public polling on marriage shows support has increased over the years and that the rate of increase has accelerated dramatically in the last two years,” reads the report.

Also notable is the age demographic breakup – 68 percent of 18-29 year-olds support gay marriage, (up 11 points since 2005). Older adults, while still generally opposing marriage equality, have grown closer to support. Only 33 percent of adults 65 and older are in support, but this is up from a mere 18 percent in 2005.

The authors of the findings are Republican Dr. Jan van Lohuizen of Voter Consumer Research, who worked for President George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns and Democrat Joel Benenson, who was the lead pollster and a senior strategist for President Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

“Even where antigay ballot measures succeed at the time, the net result is that people are prompted into these conversations,” Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, said to U.S. News. “The more people talk about this, the more they move into support of the freedom to marry.”