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Support for the legality of same - sex marriage has nearly doubled since 1996 , with about one-half of Americans now saying full spousal relationship rights for gays and gay woman should be recognise as valid by the legal philosophy .
Such right are granted in just a handful of state currently . Massachusetts was the first U.S. commonwealth to legalize same - sex wedlock , in 2004 ; Connecticut , Iowa , Vermont , New Hampshire , New York and the District of Columbia also offer marriage licenses to same - sex activity couples , according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . In February 2012 , Washington and Maryland slip away legislation to allow for same gender spousal relationship , though the laws have yet to take force . In California , the commonwealth constitution ’s ban on same - sexual urge union ( Proposition 8) was prevail invalid by a federal appeals royal court , which has postponed enforcement pending an appeal .
Same-sex marriage remains a divisive political issue.
Fifty percent of Americans said they plump for same - sex marriage , just a pinch scummy than last year ’s survey results , when a majority of Americans ( 53 percent)favored legalization of same - sex marriage . The first time Gallup dumbfound the same - sex - marriage inquiry was in 1996 , when 27 per centum said they sustain it and 68 percent controvert . Since then , in 2007 , 46 percent indicated musical accompaniment , while 44 percent said the same in 2010 .
Support seems to fall along political and spiritual melodic line with nearly two - third of Democrats state support , compared with 57 percent of Independents and 22 percent of Republicans in this yr ’s survey .
Though the Catholic Church officiallyopposes same - sexual practice marriage , 51 pct of Catholics in the U.S. say it should be effectual , compared with 38 pct of Protestants and 88 percent of those with no spiritual identity element .
The results underscore the divisiveness of same - sexual urge wedding in the United States , say Gallup officials , possibly explain President Barack Obama ’s hedging on the issue when it comes to label his support .
Results from Gallup ’s Values and Beliefs poll parrot came from telephone consultation with a random sample of 1,024 adults , age 18 and erstwhile , living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia .
