Poll: Two-thirds expect justices to legalize gay marriage

Two-thirds of Americans expect the Supreme Court to hand down a victory for gay and lesbian couples later this month and legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states, according to a new poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

In its Religion and Politics Tracking Survey, PRRI surveyed 1,009 adults from June 3 to June 7 to measure public opinion on same-sex marriage; the upcoming Supreme Court decision; nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBT Americans; the acceptability of small-business owners refusing services on religious grounds; and the amount of discrimination faced by gay, lesbian and transgender Americans.

The survey found that 55 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, 65 percent expect the Supreme Court to make it legal across the country, and 62 percent feel that transgender, and gay and lesbian people face a lot of discrimination in today’s society.

Those numbers are down slightly from February 2014, when 71 percent believed transgender people, and 68 percent believed gay and lesbian people faced a lot of discrimination.

In contrasting Democrats and Republicans, PRRI found Republicans are far more likely to doubt that LGBT Americans face a lot of discrimination in the United States and are much less likely to support efforts to address it. Compared to 75 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of Republicans agree that transgender and people face are widely discriminated against.

And when it comes to laws that allow discrimination against members of the LGBT community, 60 percent of Americans said they oppose allowing small-business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian people, even if it violates their religious beliefs.