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Obama Endorsement Shifts Gay Marriage Attitudes
U.S President Barack Obama’s recent declaration of support for gay marriage may have prompted some Americans – especially blacks and Hispanics – to reconsider their opposition to gay marriage, an analysis of online poll data has shown.
The poll asked participants whether they opposed gay marriage, supported same-sex civil unions, supported gay marriage or were unsure.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll data found that African-Americans were less likely to oppose gay marriage after Obama's announcement than before.
Prior to Obama's endorsement of gay rights on May 9, 34 percent of blacks opposed gay marriage. Afterwards, 23 percent did.
Hispanic support for gay marriage rose by 5 percentage points to 51 percent from 46 percent after Obama announced his new position. Hispanic opposition to gay marriage also shifted downward by 3 points to 20 percent from 23 percent.
White Americans' attitudes changed least. Whites' opposition to gay marriage slipped by just 2 points to 25 percent, and support for it rose, also by 2 points to 41 percent from 39 percent, the analysis found.