Events during 2009-MAY illustrating
cultural shifts about sexual minorities

	55% oppose SSM; 38% support SSM; 7% undecided or refuse to answer.
	57% support civil unions; 38% oppose civil unions; 5% undecided or refuse to answer. 1

These data support the suggestion made by some GLBT groups and civil libertarians that legalization of civil unions for same-sex couples is a preferred first step, leading to SSM at some future date.
 

"... as more states accept gay and lesbian unions, there is a debate inside the party over how it should position itself on the issue. The dispute is just one part of a broader struggle within the out-of-power GOP over its identity and whether it should focus on rallying conservatives or attracting supporters from across the political spectrum."

"Some prominent Republicans are backing away from cut-and-dried opposition, and some party operatives say it's only a matter of time before others follow suit because the country is changing."

"Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah, a Mormon who is a potential presidential candidate, backed a 2004 constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. But he says he favors civil unions and extending some legal rights to gay couples."

"Last month, John McCain's chief campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt, told the Log Cabin Republicans: 'Even though a majority of Republicans remain opposed to it, we must respect dissent on the subject within the party and encourage debate over it, and should not reject out of hand and on specious grounds ... that the party might be in the wrong on the question'."

"The shifting landscape is emboldening the gay-rights' movement, a pillar of the Democratic Party's left flank."

" 'We are at a tipping point moment,' said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading advocate of gay rights. 'The lingering minority that continues to think that the way to win is to hold GLBT people up as a wedge could not be more out of touch'." ₁

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