Lots of People Who Support Gay Marriage Think Gay Sex Is Immoral

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/lots-of-people-who-support-gay-marriage-think-gay-sex-is-immoral/284171/

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California, Illinois, New York: three states where gay marriage is or will become legal within the next six months—and three states where less than half of people see gay sex as "morally acceptable," estimates suggest. Of all the changes in attitudes toward LGBTQ issues over the last decade, perhaps this is the most remarkable: Americans seem to have concluded that what happens in other people's bedrooms is none of their business.

There are lots of interesting findings in a new study released by the Public Religion Research Institute last week. Millennials are nearly twice as likely as their grandparents to support gay marriage, including the half of the young people who identify as Republicans. Many religious Americans have changed their minds on the issue since 2003, and a majority of Jews, white mainline Protestants, and white and Hispanic Catholics now support the issue. And since 1999, the proportion of Americans who support gay adoption has increased by 20 percentage points. Today, 58 percent support it, as opposed to 38 percent.

But the most surprising statistics are buried toward the end of the study. A majority of those surveyed said that sex between adults of the same gender was morally wrong. It was a slim majority—only 51 percent—and roughly 43 percent said that gay sex is fine. There were regional differences, too. About half of Californians and Floridians had no objection to gay sex, while only a third of Texans were okay with it.

Compare this to the proportion of people who support gay marriage: 53 percent of Americans for, 41 percent against. This suggests that roughly a tenth of Americans don't like gay sex but think gay people should be able to get married anyway. In other words, they don't think public policy should necessarily mirror their private beliefs.

[LuvNewcastle]

1. I've known a lot of people like that.

A lot of straight guys I know have hang-ups about gay sex. They might be fine with marriage equality and believe that gay people should be treated just like anyone else, but when it comes to gay sex, they have a strong aversion to it and don't like hearing about it, much less seeing it. I'm not too offended by that, though. I don't like seeing men and women having sex, either. It doesn't scare me or anything, but it's just not something I care to see. The way I look at it, as long as people stand with gay people in the fight for our rights, I don't really care whether or not they want to see us having sex. What people do is what really matters in life. I'm not concerned about their tastes.

[cali]

2. what this article omits is that the number of people who don't think gay sex

is a sin or any different "morally" than straight sex, has grown significantly over the past decade or so.

Omitting that is dishonest.

[sibelian]

3. I wish they'd do these studies differently.

I want the question to be "Do you think any kind of consensual sex has any kind of moral component?"

[1awake]

4. I'll be completely honest about myself

since I'm the only one I can speak for. I support Gay marriage, and fully believe in equality for all in ALL areas. I do not find gay sex as immoral no more than I find straight sex as immoral.

I believe people should hold sex as something special and not give it away to just anyone... but thats across the board for everyone. But concerning what was discussed, I honestly don't understand the attraction. I'm a heterosexual guy so obviously I'm biased lol. Personally, I think guys... all guys are ugly, myself included. But that's a question of taste. Understanding attractions is irrelevant, especially since I don't quite understand the attraction of some of my friends choices who are heterosexual. I don't want to see a gay couple making out in public... but I don't want to see a straight couple making out in public either. For me, it's a question of love and of rights. Everyone should have the same ability and be covered under the same laws. Everyone should be able to be with who they want to be with and marry, adopt or have children... grow old together and be covered legally in all ways provided.

[GeorgeGist]

5. Lots?

This suggests that roughly a tenth of Americans don't like gay sex but think gay people should be able to get married anyway.