New poll finds 96% of Republican, independent voters back mother-father family structure

Eleven years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized same-sex “marriage” nationwide, a new national survey found that nearly all Republican and independent voters believe that children should be raised by both a mother and a father whenever possible.

The poll, conducted June 14-16 by The Decision Co. for the Greater Than coalition, surveyed 1,200 likely general election voters. The sample included 76.9% self-identified Republicans and 23.1% independents, which Greater Than identified as its mobilization base. No Democrats were included.

The survey found that 96% of respondents said it is important for a child to be raised in a home with both an involved mother and an involved father. Another 82% agreed that no child should be deliberately denied a mother or a father, while 78% said a child’s needs should come before an adult’s desires when the two conflict. 

Sixty-six percent rejected the claim that being raised by same-sex parents is no different for a child than being raised by an adoptive mother and father, while 63% agreed that children are harmed when they lose their mother or father to be raised in a same-sex household. 

Greater Than also noted that the belief was not limited to churchgoers. According to the organization, 72% of voters who attend church regularly agreed with legally recognizing every child as having a mother and a father. Among respondents who never attend church, 43% agreed.

The Greater Than coalition — led by child-rights advocacy group Them Before Us — identifies itself as a network of “parents, students, researchers, think tanks, influencers, and citizens” who hold that children “need, deserve, and have a right to their mother and father.” The group released the poll’s results on June 26, the anniversary of Obergefell. 

>> CatholicVote joins ‘Greater Than’ coalition to challenge Obergefell <<

Katy Faust, founder and president of Them Before Us, said the poll counters the notion that support for mothers and fathers is a fringe position. 

“Among conservative and moderate voters, there is overwhelming agreement that children have a right to both parents whenever possible,” she said in a press release emailed to Zeale News. “At a time when the political right is often described as divided, this issue stands out as one of remarkable unity. The conviction that children should come before adult desires remains a defining value shared across the conservative movement.”

Josh Hammer, senior editor-at-large at Newsweek and a coalition member, said the results show a “growing disconnect” between “elite cultural narratives and the convictions of conservative and moderate voters.” 

“At a time when the center-right is often portrayed as fractured,” Hammer added, “this survey reveals remarkable unity around a principle that should never have become controversial: the rights and needs of children deserve to come before adult desires.”

>> Gallup: Support for LGBT issues remains down after peaks in early 2020s <<