New Study Shows Support for the Freedom to Marry Accelerates When State Bans End

Debunks notion of "backlash," demonstrates that marriage wins are engine of acceptance

New York - April 14, 2015 – Today UCLA's Williams Institute released a new report documenting that in states with the freedom to marry, support grows much more rapidly than in states that continue to exclude same-sex couples from marriage.  

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:

"Today's Williams Institute report confirms that marriage wins are a self-fulfilling engine of support: once the freedom to marry comes to a state, people see families helped and no one hurt, and support surges. The numbers solidly debunk opponents' desperate efforts to conjure up the spectre of an impending ‘backlash' and underscore the unfairness of depriving people in the remaining 13 states of the informed choice that the end to discrimination provides. Once the Supreme Court brings an end to the exclusion from marriage in the states still left out, we can expect support to grow rapidly there as well – a true win-win." 

In addition, the Williams Institute analysis again affirms the tremendous growth in support nationwide.  Between 2012 and 2014, support grew at a remarkable clip of 6.2% per year.  By 2016, the study projects that more than half of the 50 states will show super-majority support of 60% or higher. 

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.