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A new national Gallup poll released Wednesday finds 71 percent of Americans saying they favor same-sex marriage, which is the highest level of support on this survey’s question going back to 1996 (when just 27 percent backed gay marriage).
Gallup isn’t the only recent survey showing support for same-sex marriage hitting an all-time high.
Last month’s national NBC News poll found 65 percent of Americans saying they back gay marriage, including 82 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents and 47 percent of Republicans.
And like the Gallup survey, the NBC News poll shows a marked shift in attitudes over the last two decades — with just 32 percent of Americans saying they favored same-sex marriage back in 2003.
The Gallup poll was conducted May 2-22 of 1,007 adults, and it has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.
The NBC News poll was conducted May 5-7, 9-10 of 1,000 adults, and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.
