Republican Support for Marriage Equality Declines
Gallup Poll: U.S. Support for Same-Sex Marriage Declines, Republican Support Sinks Sharply
A new Gallup survey finds U.S. attitudes toward LGBTQ issues have plateaued and modestly reversed after more than two decades of growth, with support for legal same-sex marriage at 65%, down from a high of 71% in 2022 and 2023. The slippage is driven largely by Republicans, where support for marriage equality has fallen to 37% and where only 35% say gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable. Democrats and independents are comparatively steady, with Democrats continuing to strongly support both legal same-sex marriage and moral acceptance. Gallup also reports declines in other areas of LGBTQ acceptance, including that 62% say gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable and that 38% view changing one’s gender as morally acceptable. Axios notes that while Supreme Court recognition of same-sex marriage remains settled law, Republican momentum and some state-level efforts to reopen the question keep the legal and political fight alive. The pattern mirrors broader political shifts affecting transgender people during current president Trump’s second term, alongside changes in GOP attitudes during the 2024 campaign.
Key Points
Gallup said the survey was part of its annual Values and Beliefs research and was conducted May 1–17, 2026.
Gallup’s trend data includes additional timing details: support for legal same-sex marriage reached 69% in 2024 (down from the early-2020s peak around 7-in-10) and then showed a marginal decline each year since.
The poll found a sharper backslide among Republican men: Gallup said the decline on gay marriage was “most stark among Republican men,” while independents also fell (6 points) and Democrats stayed steady (87%).
Axios quotes Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones arguing that the change may have coincided with the 2024 campaign: “And then, it kind of changed — and I think certainly [the] 2024 campaign could have been part of this.”
Axios also reports that the Supreme Court’s nationwide recognition is “settled law” after justices turned away a “long-shot challenge last year,” but the 2015 case’s lead plaintiff and advocates say the fight “is far from over.” It also cites Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights warning that groups including the Heritage Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom have “an openly anti-gay agenda.”
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