Civil Liberties

The Young-uns Love Gay Marriage

Latest poll has 7 in 10 supporting

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Support for same-sex marriage is a widely held belief among adults born after 1980, with a full 70 percent saying they believe gay men and lesbian women should be able to marry according to a new poll released Monday.

According to the survey from Pew Research, millennial support for same-sex marriage far outpaces any other generation. Among those born between 1928 and 1945, just 31 percent support same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, 38 percent of Baby Boomers and 49 percent of Gen X-ers say they believe same-sex couples should be allowed to wed.

The overwhelming support of millennials has driven a significant shift in the nation's overall attitude toward gay marriage. Today, 49 percent of Americans favor legalizing gay marriage, while 44 percent oppose it. That's a dramatic reversal from just a decade ago, when 58 percent opposed and just a third of Americans favored gay marriage.