US poll: 61% of Republicans under 30 support same-sex marriage
According to a new poll, for the first time ever a majority of young Republicans are in favour of same-sex marriage.
The Pew Research Center poll looked at age, political allegiance and support for same-sex marriage
It found that while support for same-sex marriage among Republican voters under 30 had risen to 61%, older Republicans were far less likely to support the measure.
Just 22% of Republicans over 65s back the measure, meaning there is a gap of 39 percentage points between the youngest and oldest Republicans on the issue.
The party has been increasingly divided on same-sex marriage, which the conservative wing of the party fiercely opposes.
Support in the party as a whole was found to be 38%, far lower than the 69% recorded among Democrats, and also lower than the 54% of all participants who were in favour.
The group most likely to support same-sex marriage were Democrats under 30, polling 77% in favour, and even 62% of Democrats 65 and over supported the measure.
The Washington Post reported that “support for same-sex marriage has changed more rapidly than almost any social issue in the past decade.”
