March 24, 2006

Acceptance of US lesbians and gay men is on the rise.

Is this a trend?And this is going on despite the religious right's continuing anti-gay drumbeat.

According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, public acceptance of same-sex marriage has increased markedly over the past two years {see table to left]. With the exceptions of the period around when same-sex marriages became legal in Massachusetts, and another during the final months before the 2004 election, these increase continues a trend that has shown up in Pew surveys since the mid-1990s.

Pew also asked questions about lesbian/gay service in the military and adoption by same-sex couples. Similar increases in acceptance have occurred with both of these issues as well, with the public split almost evenly on adoption — and almost two-thirds favoring an end to the ban on lesbians and gay men serving openly in the military.

Of course, the blips upward during 2004 show how volatile public opinion can be when scare tactices are employed by the religious right, but it appears that the long-term trend is away from a continued acceptance of legal discrimination against lesbians and gay men.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Via Feministing.

Posted by Magpie at March 24, 2006 01:27 PM | GLBT | Technorati links |
Comments

I am straight, but have a gay brother. Some disclosure so my personal dynamics are accounted for.

When I see charts like this, I am encouraged, but need to remind myself that things take time. I think acceptance of gay-lesbian rights are inevitable. Issues such as marriage, open military service and adoption are a force that has momentum and strength behind it. Still, it will not come to pass as quickly as any intelligent, open-minded and enlightened person would like. Small mindedness takes a long time to overcome, as does fear and pointless bigotry.

Be patient and watch as those numbers slowly, but surely, go in the right direction.

Posted by: Scott at March 26, 2006 08:14 AM