In recent years, acceptance of gays and lesbians as equal members of society has grown. | REUTERS Poll: Same-sex relationships moral

For the third year in a row, a narrow majority of Americans consider gay and lesbian relations morally acceptable, signaling that this is the new “new normal” in public opinion, according to a new Gallup Poll released Monday just days after President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage.

More than half of American adults, 54 percent, say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable — including 66 percent of Democrats and just 36 percent of Republicans — while 42 percent think they are morally wrong, Gallup found. Since 2010, a slight majority of Americans have found gay relations to be acceptable. Last year, 56 percent said same-sex relations are morally acceptable.


“Americans’ acceptance of gays and lesbians as equal members of society has increased steadily in the past decade to the point that half or more now agree that being gay is morally acceptable, that gay relations ought to be legal, and that gay or lesbian couples should have the right to legally marry,” Gallup said.

A New York Times/CBS poll released the same morning showed 38 percent of those surveyed said that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, a dramatic increase from just two in 10 who said so in 2004.

In addition, the poll found that 24 percent believed that same-sex couples should be able to form civil unions, while only 1 in three said no legal recognition should be allowed at all for same-sex at all.

Meanwhile, the 57 percent of respondents also agreed with President Obama’s position that the issue of same-sex marriages should be left to individual state governments to decide.

The level of support over the past few years, Gallup said, “makes President Obama’s decision to publicly support gay marriage much less controversial than it would have been even four years ago. Significant pockets of resistance remain — namely Republicans, those 55 and older, Protestants, residents of the South, and, in some respects, men — but majorities of other groups have grown comfortable with gay rights.”

Obama became the first sitting president to back gay marriage last week, saying in an interview, “for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

Meanwhile, 50 percent of Americans told Gallup that same-sex marriage should be valid, down slightly from 53 percent last year. Still, support for gay marriage is up from levels as low as 40 percent in 2008 and 2009. In this year’s poll, 56 percent of women and 42 percent of men said gay marriage should be legal, and support was weakest among Americans in the South.

Also, 63 percent said they believe gay or lesbian relations should be legal, and just 31 percent believe it should not be legal.

Support for gay or lesbian relations and rights are strongest among women, adults aged 18 to 34 and Democrats, Gallup found.

And about half of Americans — 52 percent — told pollsters at the Pew Research Center that Obama’s support for gay marriage did not affect their opinion of him, according to a poll released Monday. A quarter said his announcement made them view him less favorably, compared with 19 percent who said the opposite.

Just 7 percent of Republicans said Obama’s endorsement made them feel more favorably about him, while 53 percent of Republicans feel less positively toward Obama. For independents, 60 percent said their view of the president is unchanged. And among Democrats, 32 percent have a more favorable opinion of Obama, with just 13 percent saying they have a less favorable opinion now.

The Gallup Poll was conducted May 3-6 among 1,024 adults, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The New York Times poll was conducted May 11-13 with 615 adults, and a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. And the Pew poll surveyed 1,003 adults May 10-13. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

- Mackenzie Weinger contributed to this report.