Same-Sex Marriage Is Gaining Support in the U.S.

Public support for same-sex marriage is on the rise as attitudes apparently shift among some Catholics and Protestants, Pew Research Center said today. It also cited the effect of the under-30 generation as offsetting opposition to same-sex marriage from older people.

About 42% of those polled favor same-sex marriage, up from 37% in 2009, while opposition fell to 48% from 54%, according to the Pew Center. Same-sex marriage opposition fell below the 50% threshold for the first time in the 15 years Pew has taken the survey, which this year polled 6,000 adults.

Gay and lesbian marriage is getting more support from some Catholics and Protestants, while those born after 1980 had the highest support rate of legal gay marriage. Those over 45 years old are now more in favor of gay marriage than in previous years, but as a whole they oppose same-sex marriage.

Additionally, support for letting gays openly serve in the U.S. military was at 60%, the same as it was four years ago and up from 52% in 1994, according to the Pew Center.