Why is Support for Same-Sex Marriage and Other Pro-LGBT Issues Falling?

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Last week, pollsters at Gallup reported that support for same-sex marriage and other pro-LGBT issues “remains down” in the U.S.

For years, survey data indicated a growing share of Americans were pro-LGBT and supported same-sex marriage. That trend seemed to culminate in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned state marriage laws nationwide with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

But since 2024, polling data has showed a drop in support for same-sex marriage.

The latest numbers from Gallup reveal 65% of U.S. adults support same-sex marriage. That’s still a high number, but it is down from 71% in 2022.

Gallup also found 57% of adults believe it is morally wrong to change genders. That’s a major increase from 51% in 2021.

Gallup says Republicans are “largely responsible” for the shift in attitudes on same-sex marriage and pro-LGBT issues, but the truth may be more complicated.

Gallup found only 37% of Republicans now say same-sex marriage should be legal — which is down 18 points since 2022.

But Gallup’s data also shows support for same-sex marriage has fallen among Independent voters as well.

And although it may not be statistically significant, support for same-sex marriage among Democrats has been up and down from year to year.

So why have pro-LGBT attitudes started falling the past few years? It could be the same reasons that corporate Pride has fizzled and Fortune 500 companies have abandoned the pro-LGBT Equality Index: Pro-LGBT groups keep putting more and more demands on their “allies.”

According to organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, it isn’t enough to support same-sex marriage. Employers must provide “transgender-inclusive” health insurance plans, demonstrate “outreach to and engagement with the LGBTQ+ community,” and so forth.

In other words, it seems like there’s no such thing as being pro-LGBT “enough.”

There has also been nationwide pushback against pro-LGBT pandering since Obergefell.

Major companies from Walmart to Target and John Deere to Lowe’s have rolled back pro-LGBT and DEI policies in response to consumer backlash. Entertainment giants like Pixar and Disney have removed pro-LGBT elements from their storylines in response to moviegoers.

When the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Obergefell decision, many people said redefining marriage would erode religious liberty, erase distinctions between men and women, fundamentally change parenthood, and hurt children. In fact, children arguably are the victims hurt most by the Obergefell and the pro-LGBT movement.

Pro-LGBT activists and medical organizations spent years citing each other’s work in a circular pattern to manufacture a fake consensus about performing sex-change procedures on kids. Since then, whistleblowers have come forward testifying about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

All of this seems to have caused many people to rethink same-sex marriage and pro-LGBT activism in general. Gallup’s survey findings may be a reflection of that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Research Reminds Us Marriage Still Matters

Marriage,

A recent study from Barna reveals that fewer Americans are getting married today, but most still believe marriage is important and they want to get married someday.

According to Barna, only 46% of U.S. adults are currently married, down from two-thirds in 1950. The decline largely seems to be due to people waiting longer to marry. The average age for first marriage has risen since 1950. Men now marry at 30, on average, and women marry at age 28 – 29.

The good news is most unmarried adults still want to get married. Among Gen Z, 81% say they value marriage, and 78% hope to marry someday. So while cultural attitudes may be changing, marriage is a deeply desired goal for most Americans.

Barna also found that divorce rates have remained steady, with about 18% of adults reporting they’ve been divorced and more than half of divorced adults reporting that they have remarried.

One concerning trend is the growing acceptance of cohabitation. Barna noted that 58% of all adults—including 42% of practicing Christians—now say it’s “wise” to live together before marriage.

That’s troubling, because cohabitation creates relationships that are less happy and less healthy, and children with a married mother and father are less likely to live in poverty.

Married couples, on the other hand, report more satisfaction across the board than cohabiting couples, and marriage is also broadly connected with better health and wellbeing. 

Family Council has written repeatedly about the rising percentage of Arkansans who have “never married.”

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey found that 17% of men and 12.6% of women ages 35-44 had never married. By 2024, those percentages had increased to 25.6% of men and 18.7% of women.

Overall, married Arkansans dropped from 51% of the population in 2010 to 49.8% in 2024.

Cohabitation could be one explanation for the rising percentage of Arkansans who have never married, but the data isn’t clear.

Despite cultural changes, Americans—including young people—still believe marriage matters. That’s good news for Arkansas’ families and churches who understand that strong marriages are the key to building strong communities.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Initiative Launched to Directly Confront Obergefell SCOTUS Ruling

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Many people remember the dark day of the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States and the dramatic effects it had on America and the world.

God’s design for marriage, a fundamental staple of society, had been blatantly devalued by the highest court in the land.

Advocates for traditional marriage were left wondering what implications this ruling would have on society. Unfortunately, many of those fears came to pass.

County clerks have been expected to issue same-sex marriage licenses, while marriage and parenthood have been dramatically redefined.

Human life has been devalued through commercial surrogacy to provide children for homosexual couples.

Children’s greater good has been put second to adults’ feelings, wants, and desires.

The deeper roots of the ruling have reached levels many never dreamed of. Same-sex marriage has given way to transgenderism, which has caused many children to question their gender identity.

Obergefell and its tragic effects have hurt society, but it has also created permanent victims in the law and culture — namely, children.

Family Council along with countless other organizations, individuals, elected officials, and parent advocates have consistently spoken the truth about Obergefell and its consequences.

In 2021, Arkansas passed the first law protecting children from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries. As of today, at least twenty-five other states have passed a similar law protecting kids!

Arkansas lawmakers have also passed laws protecting women’s safety in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in schools, government buildings, jails, and shelters. They have also protected fairness in women’s sports and clarified the meaning of “sex,” “male,” and “female” in state code. These legislative and cultural wins have been huge victories for the side of truth and common sense! 

There is a new initiative that launched just last month that will directly confront Obergefell. It is called the Greater Than Movement and according to their website, this is “A coalition of parents, students, researchers, think tanks, influencers, and citizens who are willing to state the self-evident but costly truth: children need, deserve, and have a right to their mother and father. Marriage is and always has been the most effective tool to secure that right.”

This new coalition is a direct response to the tragedies that Obergefell has left on society. Family Council is grateful to be a part of this growing movement. 

As Christians, we know God, in the creation order, made male and female to represent his beauty in the earth. As image bearers it is our responsibility to do our best to defend, protect, and preserve it. And that includes protecting the next generation. Will you join us?

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