Majority Supports Marriage Equality in Swing States

As the Respect for Marriage Act—legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure equality of same-gender and interracial marriages at the federal level—awaits deliberation in the Senate and the November midterms near, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reports that 71 percent of American’s support same-gender marriage including 55 percent of Republicans and two-thirds of prospective swing state voters.

According to The Hill, the House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act in response to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s remarks suggesting the reevaluation and reversal of landmark decisions created by cases such as Obergefell v. Hodges. These comments as well as the overturning of Roe v. Wade despite majority support for legal access to abortion, have raised concern among the queer community and their allies.

“If this—an overturn of Obergefell–were to happen, the court would be moving in opposition to a public opinion trend that has shown increasing support,” Gallop states in a report.

However, the overt support for marriage equality in swing states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—which includes 58 percent of men, 69 percent of women, and 55 percent of Christians in those regions will project a heavy sway on legislative outcomes in the upcoming midterms. The HRC report also reveals that the voter majority in 48 states support same-gender marriage including 60 percent who are fifty-five and older.

“Marriage equality has been nothing but positive, both for the LGBTQ+ community and for our society as a whole—and that’s reflected in this polling,” HRC Interim President Joni Madison says in a statement. “Same-sex marriage has been legal nationally since 2015, and in many states for years before that. The joy that has emanated from thousands of weddings of couples who were previously denied the right to marry has melted many hearts. And the supposed harms that opponents of marriage equality predict simply have not come to pass.”