Gallup surveyed 1,001 U.S. adults between May 1 and May 17. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The survey’s release Wednesday showed that the decades-long trend of rising acceptance of LGBTQ+ issues in the United States has not only stalled but reversed across multiple measures. Between 1996 and 2022, the percentage of Americans in favor of legal same-sex marriage rose steadily from 27% to 71%, a gain of 44 points. That upward trajectory has now broken. Support declined to 65% in the latest reading, matching a drop first recorded in 2023.
The share of respondents saying gay and lesbian relations are “morally acceptable” followed a similar arc. When Gallup first asked the question in 2001, 40% said such relationships were morally acceptable. That figure rose to a peak of 71% in 2022, slipped to 64% in 2023, and has now fallen further to 62% — the lowest level since 2016.
Party affiliation is the primary dividing line in the decline, according to Gallup. The pollster’s analysis, cited in a release accompanying the data, said Republicans are “largely responsible” for the pullback. Among Republicans, support for same-sex marriage stood at 55% in the 2021-2022 wave; it has since fallen to 37%. On the morality of same-sex relationships, Republican approval dropped 21 points from its 2022 high of 56% to 35% today — a level Gallup said returns Republicans to where they stood on the question between 2005 and 2014.
Democratic views have held essentially flat. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats support same-sex marriage, unchanged from 2022, and 81% say same-sex relations are morally acceptable, also unchanged. Independent voters showed a moderate decline on both measures. Support for same-sex marriage among independents dropped from 73% to 67%; the share calling same-sex relations morally acceptable fell eight points to 64%.
Gallup also asked about changing one’s gender for the fifth year. Overall, 38% of Americans said changing one’s gender is morally acceptable, down from 46% when the question was first asked in 2021. The drop was most pronounced among Republicans, where acceptance fell from 22% to 5%. Among independents it declined from 48% to 42%, and among Democrats from 67% to 60%.
In its release, Gallup pointed to broader political and cultural shifts as contributing factors. “The change has come as conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and other historically disadvantaged groups,” the release said.
The poll’s findings come against a backdrop of federal policy changes under the second Trump administration. The administration has moved to end civil rights settlements with colleges and school districts that were aimed at preventing discrimination against transgender students, and has generally worked to scale back federal protections for LGBTQ+ people.