After years of growing support for LGBT issues, a recent Gallup poll shows U.S. public opinion has shifted modestly in the other direction, with support for legal same-sex marriage, moral acceptance of gay and lesbian relations, and approval of gender “transitions” all down from peaks recorded in the early 2020s.
Gallup found that 65% of U.S. adults now say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, down from a record-high 71% in 2022 and 2023. The share of Americans who say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable stands at 62%, the lowest level since 2016 and down from a peak of 71% in 2022. Just 38% say “changing one’s gender” is morally acceptable, down from its peak at 46% in 2021, when Gallup first asked the question.
The findings come from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 1-17, which asked 1,001 U.S. adults, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Support for legal same-sex marriage rose sharply from 27% in 1996, when Gallup first began measuring the issue, to 71% in 2022 and 2023 before the recent downturn. Moral acceptance of gay or lesbian relations followed a similar trajectory, rising from 40% in 2001 to 71% in 2022 before dropping to 64% in 2023.
According to Gallup, the decline has been driven largely by shifting views among Republicans. GOP support for legal same-sex marriage has fallen to 37%, down from 55% in 2021 and 2022. The share of Republicans who say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable has dropped 21 points since 2022, to 35%. By comparison, 64% of independents and 81% of Democrats say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable.
Republican views on gender have shifted even more sharply. Gallup found that only 5% of Republicans now say “changing one’s gender” is morally acceptable, compared with 22% in 2021 when Gallup first asked the question. By comparison, 42% of independents and 60% of Democrats now say the same.
Gallup said views among Democrats have remained largely stable, while independents have shown modest declines. The polling firm noted that the shift comes as conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including those intended to increase acceptance of LGBT issues.