What Next For Same-Sex Marriage?

California is watching the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments this week on whether a ban on same-sex marriage should stand. There was a rush to the altar last year after the state's high court made same-sex marriage legal, ruling that denying gay couples the right to marry violated their civil rights. But then voters banned it again by passing Proposition 8 in the November election.

There were rallies and counter-rallies in advance of the hearing, but it isn't clear when the court will rule on the key issues raised in the case, such as: is the ballot proposition valid under state law? If it is, what does that mean to the marriages performed before it was passed?

Public attitudes about gay rights have changed considerably over the past several decades, and survey data shows they're still evolving. This is another one of those cases where words make a big difference in survey results – in particular, the word "marriage."

A majority say they oppose same-sex marriage, but questions that suggest giving gay couples joint inheritance or health benefits (without using the word marriage) show majorities in favor. And as many as half say they would support civil unions. Question wording can change results in other ways as well. Six in 10 people tell pollsters they oppose gay marriage (half of them say they “strongly oppose” it) and roughly as many say gay marriage would violate their religious beliefs. Yet six in 10 also say legal recognition is inevitable and, when given the option, nearly one-third says it doesn’t matter to them either way.

Results like these suggest that many people are still wrestling with the implications of same-sex marriage, For more details, visit our issue guide on gay rights.