A new USA Today poll today shows that a record number of Americans, 55 percent, support marriage equality in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decisions last week in cases challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8.
That’s the highest level of support nationwide since Gallup began asking the question in 1996, when only 27 percent of Americans supported marriage equality.
Meanwhile, a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll conducted in June prior to the Supreme Court decisions also showed record support for marriage equality in the Lone Star State — at 39 percent. That’s up from 29 percent in Texas who said they supported marriage equality in 2009. An additional 30 percent in Texas said they support civil unions, with 26 percent opposing any form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples and 5 percent saying they were unsure.