WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s announcement that he now thinks same-sex couples should be able to get married has buoyed supporters of gay marriage across the country and injected new vigor into opponents. Six states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex gay couples to marry, and by the end of the year, there could be three more. And polls show that younger people especially favor gay marriage in increasing numbers.
“2012 is shaping up to be a huge year for marriage equality,” said Michael Cole-Schwartz, the communications director for the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay-rights organization.
“We’ve gone from a place where 10 years ago, gay couples could not marry in any state,” Cole-Schwartz said. “While we may lose some of these battles along the way, there is no doubt where the direction of this larger fight is going.”
The country is still spilt, and along a lot of familiar lines. Young people support gay marriage, while older Americans oppose it. Men are more likely to oppose it than women. People in the Northeast and the West are more accepting of gay marriage than people in the Midwest and the South. And though the gap is narrowing, African-Americans oppose it by a wider margin than whites.
A Gallup poll this week shows that 50 percent of Americans support gay marriage and 48 percent oppose it.
“This is still a very divisive issue,” said Carroll Doherty, an associate director at the Pew Center for People and the Press.
Opponents of gay marriage are quick to note that none of the states where gay marriage has been on the ballot have endorsed it.
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, praised North Carolina voters for passing a measure to prohibit same-sex marriage in its constitution and, in a statement, said that most Americans agree.
“A clear majority of the American people have not given up on standing in support of marriage — but instead the evidence suggests they want to see it strengthened and preserved for future generations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Obama’s announcement boosted the hopes of gay-rights groups around the world that other leaders will follow his example. The Vatican and other religious officials who oppose gay marriage stayed largely silent.
“This is incredibly important; it’s excellent news. The United States is a global leader on everything, and that includes gay rights,” said Julio Moreira, president of the Rio de Janeiro-based Arco-Iris gay-rights group. “This will force other nations like Brazil to move forward with more progressive policies.”
That message was echoed by some people in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, who said it was about time Obama took a positive stand on the issue.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
