Think Same Sex Marriage Isn’t Inevitable?

Then you’ve got your head in the sand.  Check out the numbers released by the Pew Research Center last week:

They write:

The gradual shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage largely reflects the changing views of successive generations. Over the last 15 years, each generation has been more supportive of gay marriage than its predecessor. As the younger generations make up a larger share of the public, the balance of opinion has shifted.

But the bump in support for gay marriage has been more pronounced in recent years because of significant attitude changes within generational groups. As recently as 2009, just 23% of Silents supported gay marriage; now 33% share this view. Notable increases in the past two years have also been seen among Boomers (from 32% to 42%), Gen Xers (from 41% to 50%) and Millennials (from 51% to 59%).

The Pew Numbers also show liberalizing trends in other social issues, from the legalization of marijuana to gun rights, but none is as pronounced as same sex marriage.

The question, I suppose, is how conservative the Millennials will become as they age.  Surely the Boomers were pretty liberal when they were in college, and they’ve moved right as a group — though not as far as their parents and grandparents.

HT: Bethany Stolle