Poll: Majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage for the first time

A majority within all partisan groups, including Republicans, now support same-sex marriage, according to a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released on Tuesday.

In 2019, less than half of those who identify as Republican — 47 percent — backed gay marriage, but the survey indicates that number rose to 51 percent last year.

Approval also increased among independents, with 72 percent now in support. In previous years, figures among independents hovered in the mid-60s.

Democratic approval stayed strong, with around three-fourths in support, similar to previous polling years.

Democrats, independents and Republicans have all polled at a steadily increasing rate over the past 10 years when it comes to approving of same-sex marriage, though GOP support has always been a minority position.

The same survey found that the majority of all partisan groups also support LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections in housing, careers and public accommodations, including 62 percent of Republicans, 85 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of independents.

Last month, the House passed the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in areas including education, housing, employment and more. The measure, however, faces an uphill climb in the 50-50 Senate.

People who oppose pro-LGBTQ+ policies are still more likely to identify as Republicans, and most of them have a favorable view of former President Trump, at 75 percent. Only 1 in 4 respondents to the survey who don’t support LGTBQ+ rights have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.

Results from the study are based on 50,334 bilingual telephone interviews conducted between Jan. 7, 2020, and Dec. 20, 2020, according to the PRRI.

The margin of error for the total sample is 0.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. The margin of error for the national issue subsample is 1.1 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. The design effect of 1.3 is included in the margins of error, the PRRI notes.