Three weeks since the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in favor of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, support for the institution has fallen by six points, according to a July 18 Associated Press Gfk-Poll. An April poll found that 48 percent of Americans supported same-sex marriage; now the percentage is 42, with 40 percent opposed.
Additionally, 41 percent of Americans opposed the Obergefell ruling, with only 39 percent in favor. In other words, the constitutional right to same-sex marriage that so recently became, as advocates reiterated ad nauseam, the Law of the Land, has not been overwhelmingly affirmed by our nation’s sovereign rulers – the people.
On the religious issues, the AP writes,
The poll also found a near-even split over whether local officials with religious objections should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, with 47 percent saying that should be the case and 49 percent say they should be exempt.
Overall, if there’s a conflict, a majority of those questioned think religious liberties should win out over gay rights, according to the poll. While 39 percent said it’s more important for the government to protect gay rights, 56 percent said protection of religious liberties should take precedence
This result is especially surprising given that only 19 percent of Americans know that religious freedom has explicit First Amendment protection, and that one third of Americans cannot name any of their First Amendment rights.
Granted, polls can fluctuate, but this particular one reveals that the divisiveness of the Obergefell decision has been colored over with rainbow-flag Facebook profile pictures and company logos.
Many supporters of traditional marriage and sound constitutional interpretation felt profoundly alienated on social media and amid the media celebration after the ruling was announced. Now they know they’re not alone.