It’s only one poll, but this seems to be evidence that the electoral sands are shifting on the gay marriage issue:
Republicans may not be able to rely on social issues as they try to rebound against a popular president and increasingly dominant Democratic Party, as a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows rising support for same-sex marriage, legalized marijuana and a process by which undocumented immigrants could become legal residents.
(…)
Support for each of these issues has reached a new high in Post-ABC polling, but none has the widespread backing necessary to avoid a political battle. By keeping his focus elsewhere, Obama may be avoiding a repeat of former president Bill Clinton’s failed efforts to end the ban on gays in the military.
(…)
Most striking is the sharp shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage. Forty-nine percent said it should be legal for gay people to marry, and 46 percent said it should be illegal. About three years ago, a broad majority said such unions should be illegal (58 percent illegal to 36 percent legal).
Most significant in the results, though, is the fact that the GOP seems to be far out of line with younger voters’ views on this issue:
Among those under 35, though, two-thirds support it, up from 53 percent in 2006, and nearly half support it strongly. More broadly, Republicans face a sharp partisan gap among those under 35, only 17 percent identified as Republican, with 43 percent calling themselves independent and 36 percent Democrats. Across all age groups, 21 percent identified as Republicans in the poll, the lowest level in Post-ABC polling since 1983.
These numbers came out only a few days after a similar results in a CBS/NY Times poll:
Forty-two percent of Americans now say same sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds. That’s up nine points from last month, when 33 percent supported legalizing same sex marriage.
Support for same sex marriage is now at its highest point since CBS News starting asking about it in 2004.
Twenty-eight percent say same sex couples should have no legal recognition – down from 35 percent in March – while 25 percent support civil unions, but not marriage, for gay couples.
This is going to happen, even in the most conservative states in the Union, and I think it’s going to happen a lot quicker than people expect.
H/T: Donklephant
