There is an endless stream of polls about Americans’ increasingly positive views toward marriage equality. But very few surveys focus on the opinions of the people who are benefitting from the new freedoms more than anyone: gay people themselves. So we decided to give Queerty readers a chance to sound off, and more than 1,600 of your responded.
Here are six of the highlights:
1. We will win
60 percent of respondents predicted the Supreme Court will to strike down the remaining 13 bans on same sex marriage. An overwhelming majority said the next legal and political priority should be convincing Congress to pass federal anti-discrimination protections, and not transgender rights. (The federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act would protect LGB and T.) If the court declines to strike down the laws, you agreed that we’ll simply take the issue back to the ballot box in those 13 states and, in due time, emerge victorious. Only five percent threatened to move to Canada.
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2. Change has come much faster than expected
Nearly 9o percent of you were surprised, shocked even, by the speed of acceptance of marriage equality but were also overwhelmingly likely to say your family would attend your wedding. This means that the millions of conversations around these issues people like you are having with loved ones is one of the key drivers of change.
3. Religion usually is not a major factor in same-sex marriages and weddings
In a position that will no doubt confirm the worst fears of marriage equality opponents, only ten percent reported that a religious wedding ceremony is important, with more than 50 percent describing themselves as “more secular minded.”
4. Marriage does not imply sexual fidelity
This one is not going to make Pat Robertson happy either. One-third of you agreed that marriage does not necessarily include monogamy, favoring the Dan Savage term “monogamish.” Perhaps because of this appreciation for sexual flexibility, only five percent predicted same-sex couples will have a higher divorce rate than opposite-sex marriages. Nearly 13 percent believe opposite-sex couples actually will divorce at a greater rate (it could hardly be worse!). (Nearly 80 percent said divorce rates have little or nothing to do with the gender of the married couple.)
5. Companies that spoke out in favor of marriage equality early and often deserve support
More than 70 percent would patronize pro-marriage business, which is good news for companies that got out in front of the movement. On the downside, nearly 20 percent were unsure which companies were on their side.
6. You are relatively forgiving of those who oppose equality
More than half agreed that opponents to same-sex marriage are not necessarily bigoted, and that the circumstances of people’s views matter.
