Gay Marriage Support Is Declining: Is LGBT Overreach To Blame?
Gay marriage support has largely been on the increase in recent years, but a new Pew Research Center survey conducted this month indicates that the numbers are now on the decline.
Pew, which is not affiliated with religion in any way as one commenter mistakenly suggested in our own Tara Dodrill’s original report, interviewed 2,002 individuals earlier this month, and found a five percentage point drop to 49 percent when it comes to those who support gay marriage.
During the same period of time, there was an increase in the number of people who were opposed, from 39 percent to 41 percent. The margin of error on the survey was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
“Since we’ve seen this upward trend for so long, we’re cautious because it’s too early to say what this means for long-term trends,” said Jessica Martinez, a researcher in Pew’s Religion and Public Life Project, speaking to ABC News. “As we continue to ask this question in other surveys, we’ll keep an eye on where this moves.”
Some are now suggesting that LGBT overreach may be to blame, pointing to cases like that of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop. Phillips was opposed to gay marriage due to his religious objections, but was told he could not refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple getting married.
The case caused outrage when it first broke in June.
“We’ll see what happens,” Phillips told Fox News after refusing to make the cake anyway. “I’m not giving up my faith. Too many people have died for this faith to give it up that easily.”
The ACLU and other supporters of gay marriage had accused Phillips of “refusing to serve” the gay couple and discriminating against them, though Phillips and his supporters retorted that it’s not discrimination in the sense that Phillips has no issue serving gay customers, only making cakes that celebrate something that he didn’t believe in from a religious standpoint.
While Colorado courts sided with the plaintiffs in the Masterpiece Cakeshop story, the victory could be a short-lived one if LGBT overreach is what motivated the sudden decline in support reported by Pew.
It would also indicate gay marriage support is not exactly synonymous with support for the LGBT community as a whole. In other words, some supporters may be looking at gay marriage as a human rights issue — a “I don’t agree with you, but I agree with your right to be you” sort of statement.
What do you think, readers? Is public opinion definitely starting to turn against gay marriage, and if so, is LGBT overreach to blame? Sound off in the comments section.
[Image via ShutterStock]
