A new Gallup poll shows that Americans’ support for LGBTQ+ issues has plateaued and begun to decline, and that fewer Americans now support same-sex marriage or regard homosexual relationships as morally acceptable.
These are new tones and create problems for the gay lobby, which remains strong in Europe. It has become linked to the EU’s civilisational project, but is being rejected by Americans. More trouble in transatlantic relations.
The survey, published on Wednesday, shows that although a majority of Americans (65 per cent) still support legal same-sex marriage, the figure has fallen by six percentage points from its peak in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, moral acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships has declined to 62 per cent, which Gallup says is the lowest level since 2016.
Public acceptance of gender-affirming treatment has experienced an even steeper decline over the past five years. Today, only 38 per cent of Americans believe it is morally acceptable to change one’s sex, a decline of eight percentage points since 2021, while a majority of 57 per cent regard it as morally wrong.
Sex reassignment has therefore triggered a backlash.
But this is primarily among Republicans and independent voters. Democrats remain firmly on the side of gay-rights politics, but their problem is that they are in decline. Conservative winds are blowing across America.
The political shift is clearly reflected in attitudes towards same-sex marriage. Among Republicans, support for legal same-sex marriage has plunged to 37 per cent, down from the majority level of 55 per cent recorded in 2021–2022.
Independents also experienced a decline of six percentage points, to 67 per cent, while Democrats have remained stable at 87 per cent since 2022.
A similar pattern emerged in views on the morality of same-sex relationships. Among Republicans, acceptance fell by 21 percentage points to 35 per cent, a level not seen since 2005–2014. Independents recorded a decline of eight percentage points, to 64 per cent, while there was no significant change among Democrats, who stood at 81 per cent.