Public remains supportive of same-sex marriage; wide partisan gap persists % who allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally Same-sex Supreme marriage Court Supreme Court decision Oppose
The share of Americans who favor same sex-marriage grew steadily for most of the last decade, but public support has leveled off in the last few years. Around four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) favored allowing gays and lesbians to wed in 2009, a share that rose to 62% in 2017. But views are largely unchanged over the last few years. About six-in-ten Americans (61%) support same-sex marriage in the most recent Pew Research Center survey on the issue, conducted in March 2019.
While support for same-sex marriage has grown steadily across generational cohorts in the last 15 years, there are still sizable age gaps. For instance, 45% of adults in the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) favor allowing gays and lesbians to wed, compared with 74% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). There also is a sizable political divide: Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are much less likely to favor same sex marriage than Democrats and Democratic leaners (44% vs. 75%).
Public remains supportive of same-sex  | marriage; wide partisan gap persists  | % who  | allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally  | Same-sex Supreme marriage Court  | Supreme Court  | decision  | Oppose  | Favor  | 31  | 2019  | 2004  | 2009  | 2014  | % who favor allowing gays and lesbians to  | marry legally  | 5  | Dem/Lean Dem  | 44  | 43  | 19  | Rep/Lean Rep  | 2004  | 2009  | 2014  | 2019  | Notes: Data for 2007 2015 based on yearly averages  | Don it know responses not shown.  | Source: Survey of U.S adults conducted March 20-25, 2019  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 