According to the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Americans now support marriage equality by a 54-40 margin:
the NBC/WSJ poll finds that a majority
-- 54 percent -- would support a law in their state
making same-sex marriage legal. Twenty four
percent would actively support such a law, while
30 percent would favor it but not actively support
it. By comparison, a combined 40 percent say they
would oppose such a law.
This may be the highest level of support I've ever seen in a poll for marriage equality and almost certainly the biggest spread. To say that this poll is biased in favor of marriage equality would be mistake in my view when you consider that President Obama is leading Mitt Romney 47-43, well within the current consensus of polls. It only confirms the trend towards equality, as more and more Americans come to accept what is a fundamental human right.
The poll also finds that President Obama's position on the issue will make no difference as to their vote in November, and it is a virtual tie among those who say it will factor. With that said, it should be noted that doing the right thing is always important regardless of the political stakes. But of course that's not say that President Obama shouldn't be commended for doing the right thing, as he most certainly should.