Opposition to Gay Marriage Increasingly a Loser with GOP Primary Voters

The hate merchants at groups like Family Research Council, American Family Association, and The Family Foundation here in Virginia can be none too happy with the findings of a new poll from NBC News and Marist College that indicates that opposition to gay marriage is now unacceptable among would be 2016 GOP presidential primary voters other than voters in Iowa. Most shockingly,opposition to gay marriage was unacceptable even in South Carolina. Not that these results will deter homophobes like Mike Huckabee or self-loathing closet cases like Rick Santorum from continuing their anti-gay screeds.  Here are some of the findings via Towleroad:

The polls, in fact, show that about half of likely GOP caucus and primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina said they find opposition to gay marriage either "mostly" or "totally" unacceptable in a candidate. Fifty-two percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina said opposing gay marriage is either mostly or totally unacceptable, while 47 percent of likely Iowa caucus voters agree.

By comparison, 63 percent of Iowa voters say belief in man-made climate change (and fighting it) is unacceptable, 56 percent of New Hampshire voters say raising taxes on the wealthy is a non-starter, and 52 percent of South Carolina voters say support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship is a deal-breaker on one level or another.

Voters in all three states find a candidate who supports gay marriage to be about as amenable as one who doesn't toe the party line on any of these issues.

And while the numbers are surprising, they make some sense. A Pew poll conducted in March 2014 showed 39 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners supported gay marriage. Add the passage of time and the fact that non-Republicans can vote in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and you've got a potentially less anti-gay marriage electorate come next year.

 The larger question, of course is whether or not gay haters will be more motivated to go to the polls to express their anti--gay animus than less extreme voters.