How a Mind-Blowing Number of Americans Came to Support Marriage Equality in a Short Time

http://www.alternet.org/how-mind-blowing-number-americans-came-support-marriage-equality-short-time



When Ted Olson, the conservative super-lawyer who got George W Bush into the White House, went to federal court in 2009 to overturn California's gay marriage ban, the mood among gay rights groups was one of universal dread. The country was not ready, they wailed, and a negative ruling could set back the cause of equality for decades. What did this schmuck know about gay rights anyway?

But oh, how the mood has changed.

On Tuesday, Olson will walk up the steps of the US supreme court with the support not only of the entire gay establishment, but with a solid majority of the country behind him, too. Ten years ago, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage (leading to death threats against the state's judges), 55% of Americans told pollsters that two men or two women had no right to marry, while only 37% favored equality. Today, the figures are almost exactly reversed. A full 58% of Americans now believe gays should be allowed to wed – and the trend goes in only one direction.

That figure rises to a breathtaking 81% among adults aged 18 to 29. And quite unlike the case of abortion, this progress cuts across party lines and political identification – even among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, a majority of voters under 50 support marriage equality.