Americans are still broadly supportive of same-sex marriage, but Gallup’s latest survey shows that backing has edged down from its recent high, and acceptance of transgender people has slipped too. In a Values and Beliefs poll conducted May 1-17, 2026, 65% of adults said they approve of legal same-sex marriage, down six points from the 2022 and 2023 peak.
The timing matters because the numbers come after years of steady gains that once made these views look almost settled. Gallup’s survey, based on telephone interviews with 1,001 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, shows the reversal is not dramatic, but it is broad enough to mark a change in direction after a long climb.
The same survey found 62% now view gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016. Support for legal same-sex marriage still stands well above where it was in 1996, when just 27% backed it, and it reached 71% in 2022. But after a dip to 69% in 2024, it has slipped again, suggesting the peak may have passed.
The steepest pullback is among Republicans. In 2021 and 2022, 55% of Republicans favored legal same-sex marriage; today, that figure is 37%. Their view of gay or lesbian relations has fallen 21 points since 2022, to 35%. Among independents, support for same-sex marriage has dropped six points to 67%, and acceptance of gay or lesbian relations has declined eight points to 64%. Democrats remain far more supportive, at 87% on marriage and 81% on gay or lesbian relations, with little change.
Views on transgender issues have moved in the same direction. Gallup first asked in 2021 whether changing one’s gender is morally acceptable, and 46% said yes. In the new survey, that figure is 38%, while 57% now call it morally wrong. Republicans have shifted most sharply there too: just 5% now say changing one’s gender is morally acceptable, down from 22% in 2021. Independents are at 42%, and Democrats at 60%.
The broader pattern is clear enough. Support for LGBTQ+ rights rose for roughly two decades before peaking early in the 2020s, then began edging back. That retreat has come as conservative leaders have pushed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts aimed at broadening acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and other groups that have faced discrimination. What Gallup has not shown is why the turn happened now, or whether the slide will continue into the next round of surveys.
For now, the snapshot is of a country that has not reversed course, but has stopped moving in one direction. The question Gallup will answer next is whether this is a pause after a long surge, or the start of a more durable shift.
