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New Poll: GOP Support Up for Same-Sex Marriage

by Kevin Schattenkirk

EDGE Media Network Contributor

Tuesday March 23, 2021

A majority of Republicans now support same-sex marriage, The Hill reports.

A new poll from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), released on Tuesday, shows 51 percent support for marriage equality, which is up from 47 percent in 2019. The numbers rose for those who identify as Independent, currently at 72 percent — in recent years, The Hill notes, that figure was around the mid-60s.

Of course, Democratic support for marriage equality remains high, at around 75 percent.

In the same survey, a majority of all three groups support nondiscrimination policies protecting the LGBTQ community — in housing, the workplace, and public accommodations — with 62 percent Republican, 85 percent Democrat, and 79 percent Independent.

As The Hill notes, last month the House passed the Equality Act, "which would�prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in areas including education, housing, employment and more." Whether the split GOP-Democratic Senate will also vote to pass the Act is a little less certain.

Those opposing pro-LGBTQ rights and protections are more likely to identify as Republican, and most with a favorable perspective of ex-President Trump. The study found that only one in four of those particular respondents held unfavorable views of Trump.

The PRRI study drew from 50,334 bilingual telephone calls last year, between Jan. 7 and Dec. 20, 2020.

Kevin Schattenkirk is an ethnomusicologist and pop music aficionado.