Americans' support for same-sex marriage sees decline, new poll shows
Fernando Cervantes Jr.More than a decade after the landmark Obergefell Supreme Court case legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, support for such unions in the United States has fallen from record-highs, according to a new Gallup poll.
The poll, released on Wednesday, June 3, showed that after more than two decades of steady growth in advocacy for same-sex marriage, the last couple of years have seen a decline in Americans’ support.
According to Gallup, 65% of U.S. adults say they believe same-sex marriage should be legal, which is a 6% decrease from the peak of 71% recorded in 2022 and 2023.
The nationwide poll, which interviewed 1,001 adults, was conducted between May 1 and May 17. Gallup said the poll's margin of error was ±4 percent.
Wednesday’s poll kicks off the beginning of Pride Month and comes only a day after Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee, posted and subsequently deleted a post on X that said “homosexuality has no place in America,” as well as wishing readers a "Happy Nuclear Family Month.”
Ogles went on to apologize, saying the post was written and shared by a member of his communications team while he was “working on the farm.”
Receding LGBTQ+ support, protections
Other metrics that show falling numbers were Americans who say gay and lesbian relationships are “morally acceptable.”
Gallup’s poll on Wednesday showed that only 62% of Americans said these types of relationships were “morally acceptable,” its lowest level recorded in the last decade.
The declining support comes as the Supreme Court ruled in April that Colorado’s ban on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy for young people infringed on the free speech rights of a Christian counselor and upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in June 2025.
The shift in support has also seen its effects in the broadly supportive corporate world, which – despite a track record of backing the nation’s LGBTQ+ population – shrank Pride Month budgets, flashed fewer rainbow flags and downplayed solidarity amid the “go woke go broke” movement that aimed to pressure companies to roll back LGBTQ+ commitments.
Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Sara Moniuszko and Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.