Support For Gay Marriage Falls, More Want States To Decide

Support for gay marriage has fallen since the debate over DOMA and Prop 8 was raging and the Supreme Court handed down the rulings. During that time, a rash of polls — including Rasmussen Reports — found majority support for gay marriage in the United States.

Now, voters are again evenly split on support for gay marriage, with 46 percent opposing and 46 percent in support for gay marriage. The decline seems to be driven by Americans’ views on the definition of “marriage” and where it is that the issue to should be settled.

Voters nationwide are also evenly divided when asked if marriage is a religious or civil institution, with differences of opinion over gay marriage depending on how voters feel about these two issues.

Those who believe that marriage is a religious institution are almost unanimously opposed, while the same holds true for those who feel it is a civil institution.

Nevertheless, the survey finds that 48 percent of Likely U.S. Voters consider marriage to be more of a religious institution than a civil one, and nearly as many — 45 percent — view marriage more to be a civil institution.

However, slightly more feel laws regarding marriage should be set at the state or local level, rather than by the federal government in the Supreme Court, the executive or Congress.