Support for same-sex marriage dips 4 points from 2018 high: Gallup

The majority of respondents in a new Gallup poll who say same-sex marriage should be legal has dipped 4 points from an all-time high recorded in 2018.

Sixty-three percent of Americans polled now say that same-sex marriage should be recognized by law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. The same percentage consider gay relations to be morally acceptable.{mosads}

That percentage dropped from the 67 percent recorded in 2018, but remains on par with the 64 percent to 67 percent recorded since 2017, Gallup noted.

Support for same-sex marriage remains more than twice as high as when it was first polled in 1996, when just over a quarter of Americans said it should be legal.

The majorities of most groups support gay marriage with a few exceptions. Only 47 percent of adults aged 65 and older and 44 percent of Republicans support gay marriage, according to the new poll.

Support for same-sex couples surged after former President Obama became the first president to come out in support of their marriage in 2012, Gallup noted. The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015.

The Gallup poll of 1,009 adults was conducted between May 1-12. Its margin of error is 4 percentage points.