We’ve been saying the tipping point on support for LGBT people is here. A new CNN poll with some really encouraging numbers bears that out:
(CNN) – Nearly half of all Americans think the Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.
Forty-nine percent of respondents think gay and lesbian couples have the constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law, while 51 percent say those rights do not exist.
Oh, but…
In a separate question, some respondents were asked whether the Constitution should (rather than does) give gays and lesbians the right to marry.
“That’s different than asking respondents what they think is currently in the Constitution,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
In that separate question, 52% said that same-sex couples should have the constitutional right to marry; 46% say the Constitution should not convey that right.
And, as we’ve also been saying, this is a generational issue. Opposition to LGBT equality is, quite literally, passing away at a rapid pace:
The gap widens dramatically when age is taken into account. Nearly six in ten Americans under the age of 50 say gay rights are protected under the Constitution. Only 38 percent of Americans over the age of 50 say the same thing.
The full results are here, if you like poring over things like that.
