Poll shows Americans changing opinions about gays and lesbians

“It is a sea change in attitude. You’d be hard-pressed to find an issue that has had a bigger shift in public opinion,” said Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. He’s referring to a survey the Institute conducted which shows a strong majority of U.S. citizens support marriage equality.

Also, a majority say they wouldn’t be upset or very upset if a child were gay, up dramatically from a generation ago. And an overwhelming majority say it would make no difference to them if a candidate for Congress were gay.

The research shows the shift is driven by young people – and those who are familiar with gays and lesbians in their families and daily life.

People aged 18-29 overwhelmingly favor same-sex marriage. Also, the number of Americans who say they know someone who’s gay has skyrocketed over the last decade and a half. And those who know someone who’s gay are almost twice as likely to support same-sex marriage.

via McClatchy DC