POLL: Should Homosexuality Be Accepted By Society?

I had previously blogged about the results of the latest poll from the PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS which discussed how "political typology" influences views on marriage equality. My husband pointed out that the poll also asked more general questions about societal acceptance of homosexuality.

Overall, 58% agree homosexuality should be accepted compared to 33% who believe it should be discouraged. What's interesting are how the views change depending on different attributes. The good news is that the younger you are, the more you believe homosexuality should be accepted, from a high of 69% if you're between 18-29, to a low of 47% if you're over 65.

There are only two groups for which discouraging homosexuality is a majority position: Republicans (53%, especially conservative Republicans at 58%) and White evangelical Protestants (63%). But of course it just so happens that the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives Republican majority falls into one or all of those categories. Additionally, every leading Republican presidential contender is either a conservative or a White Protestant, except for Mitt Romney and John Huntsman, who are Mormons, not exactly more accepting of homosexuality than Protestants.