Same-Sex Marriage

Americans’ embrace of same-sex rights and acceptance of gay Americans has been one of the steadiest trends in recent political history, with support for same-sex marriage gradually rising from less than 30 percent in the mid-1990s to around 70 percent today. Support has become so strong that pollsters have largely stopped even asking about it.

But there’s increasing evidence that these gains have halted and even reversed somewhat, largely thanks to Republicans moving in the opposite direction — in some cases, sharply.

Gallup is the latest to show this:

Support for same-sex marriage in the United States is declining, especially among Republican voters, according to new data.

Gay marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015, after the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges. While approval for same-sex marriage steadily increased across political affiliations, data from Gallup has shown a decrease over the past two years.

Republican support for gay marriage noticeably declined over the past two years as LGBT activists have increasingly focused their efforts on advocating medical transition for gender-confused youth and the teaching of gender ideology in schools.

After peaking at 55 percent in 2021 and 2022, Republican support for gay marriage is down to 46 percent overall, dropping 9 points in just two years, according to new Gallup polling. Gay-marriage support among Democrats remained steady at 83 percent compared to 74 percent support among independents.

Around 80 percent of same-sex married couples are concerned about no longer having marriage equality, according to a new report.

The report, from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found 79.3 percent of same-sex married couples said they were either “very” or “somewhat concerned” about Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S., being overturned.

Thailand’s senate has passed the final reading of a historic marriage equality bill, paving the way for the country to become the first in south-east Asia to recognise same-sex marriage.

The bill gained the support of nearly all upper-house lawmakers and will be sent to the palace for endorsement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The law will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito renewed his criticism Tuesday of the high court’s landmark same-sex marriage ruling, addressing it in a five-page statement as part of an order explaining why the court declined to hear a case involving a Missouri lawsuit.

The case in question, the Missouri Department of Corrections v. Jean Finney, involved a dispute where jurors were dismissed from the employment discrimination case after they voiced religious concerns about same-sex relationships.

When the Vatican officially announced its approval of the blessing of same-sex couples this week, the media went into overdrive. The news was termed a “shocking reversal on same-sex relationships,” a “landmark ruling,” and a “radical shift in church policy.”

You’d think the hyperventilating reaction signaled a major reform. Instead, all the attention concerned a change that was much more modest and not even new.

The Vatican said on Monday in a landmark ruling approved by Pope Francis that Roman Catholic priests can administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies.

A document from the Vatican's doctrinal office, which effectively reversed a declaration the same body had issued in 2021, said such blessings would not legitimise irregular situations but be a sign that God welcomes all.

It should in no way be confused with the sacrament of heterosexual marriage, it added.