For the first time, Gallup has a majority of respondents supporting same-sex “marriage”. The question is pretty straightforward, so the results are not tied to a faulty or biased question. I think that this represents a legitimate tilt in American public opinion.
Does that mean Washington or the states should jump on board to permit homosexual marriage? Absolutely not. First, morality is not decided by a majority vote. Second, a number of states have taken gay civil unions and marriage for a test run and it might be worth waiting and seeing (in a decade or so) how that works out. I’m not being facetious. Social science might provide some insights given enough time — and 3-5 years is insufficient.
The big takeaway for me regarding the poll numbers is that it is a crucial reminder that social conservatives need to be constantly vigilant. They cannot disengage the culture wars. And they need to be more effective in articulating the various reasons (moral, social, etc…) to oppose not just SSM but the normalization of homosexual behaviour.
