Cultural Revolution: GOP Support for Same-sex “Marriage,” and “LGBT” Generally, Collapses

“Sex is not messed up because it was put in the closet,” goes a paraphrase of philosopher C.S. Lewis. “It was put in the closet because it was messed up.” Some Americans may be rediscovering this truth, too, if the latest Gallup poll is any guide. It finds that Republican support for faux (i.e., same-sex) marriage has fallen almost 20 points since 2021-’22. Even more strikingly perhaps, the percentage of Republicans who consider homosexual relations morally acceptable has declined 21 points.

And it’s hard chalking this up to now-infamous polling incompetence. After all, 20 points is well beyond what any margin of error or sampling-bias phenomenon would explain.

It isn’t just Republicans who’ve shifted on sexual devolutionary (“LGBTQIA+”) matters, either. Registered Independents also exhibit declining support, though to a lesser degree. Democrats remain unchanged on these issues, though, which reflects the growing ideological chasm between the American Left and Right.

And what accounts for this shift “right” on sexual propriety, bucking a culture that has long been drifting left? Well, just as people talk about “black fatigue,” pink fatigue comes to mind here. The sexual devolutionaries have gotten in people’s faces and spaces, alienating many who otherwise wouldn’t take issue with their behavior.

Sudden Reversal

Reporting on the story, The Washington Stand wrote Thursday:

The last three years have been a humbling experience for Pride. What was once an over-the-top rainbow blow-out has been dialed back a stunning degree, thanks to the colossal wave of public pushback. It’s been a sucker-punch for LGBT activists, who’ve been dumbfounded by the complete reversal of fortunes. Corporate sponsorships have dried up, local organizations are filing Chapter 11, red states are going on the offensive with June alternatives, and Republican support for same-sex marriage is in a dizzying freefall.

In one of the most dramatic sea changes, millions of Americans are walking away from what Obergefell [SCOTUS faux-marriage opinion] unleashed on the nation in 2015. According to the latest Gallup poll, just released Wednesday, only 37% of Republicans now say same-sex marriage should be legal — a whopping 18-point drop since 2022 (55%). While Democrats still strongly back the redefinition of marriage at 87%, skeptical Independents and the GOP are driving the country’s numbers down to 65% support overall, 6% lower than 2022 and 2023. In at least 11 states, legislators have even introduced bills to roll back same-sex marriage.

One important correction to the above should be issued, however: The Left has not “redefined” marriage. As I’ve explained, repeatedly, they have undefined it. There’s a big difference.

As mentioned, this sexual-mores sea change goes beyond faux marriage. As Gallup informed last Wednesday:

Partisans’ views on the morality of gay or lesbian relations have shifted similarly. Since 2022, the high point for Republicans, the share who say such relations are morally acceptable has fallen 21 points to 35%, compared with an eight-point decline among independents to 64% and no meaningful change among Democrats (now at 81%).

As a result of the recent decline, Republicans’ views of the morality of same-sex relations are now similar to what they were between 2005 and 2014.

While good news, this merely represents a traditionalist reconquest of some lost territory, but not close to all. As Gallup also tells us, it

first asked about the morality of same-sex relations in 2001, when 40% said they were morally acceptable. By 2022, 71% held that view, before a sharp drop to 64% in 2023, holding at about that level during the past three years.

In other words, a healthy majority still supports a very unhealthful sexual standard. Moreover and as mentioned earlier, while “Pride” organizers are now having more trouble securing funding for their events, this appears partially a result of Trump administration action. This means that it could change with the next administration. Apropos to this, The Wall Street Journal reported last Tuesday:

Departing sponsors have provided a range of reasons, including economic instability and the Trump administration’s moves against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, said Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance in Washington, D.C., whose organization saw defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and others pull out when it hosted the traveling WorldPride festival last year. “There were those that said, ‘We don’t know what we can do because of federal contracts or DEI,’” he said.

Several federal agencies also typically sponsor Capital Pride’s annual activities, but all stepped back last year and haven’t returned, he said.

A federal healthcare provider last year told organizers of a Pride event in Indiana that it couldn’t participate “due to changes in the approval process and organizational guidance related to Executive Orders.”

It’s a given, too, that this will be reversed should the Democrats recapture the White House in 2028. Why, even a RINO GOP president might be a sexual-devolution enabler. This said, there’s still more good news.

A Cultural Realignment?

Delivering it is commentator Tony Perkins. Alluding to pink fatigue and speaking of a cultural realignment, he stated Friday:

As many warned years ago, the debate was never simply about the right to marry the person one loves; it was also about redefining longstanding social norms, including those governing parent-child relationships.

When schools withheld information from parents about a child’s social gender transition, many families saw the connection between what was happening in the classroom and the broader redefinition of marriage and family. As a result, public opinion began to shift.

Furthermore, Perkins points out that

Republican leaders have moved beyond symbolic resistance to Pride Month and are increasingly advancing proclamations and policies promoting the nuclear family. Among the arguments they cite is extensive social science showing that, across numerous measures, children do best when raised by their married mother and father.

Note that this is happening mainly on the state level. For example, Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act (2023) bans “adult cabaret” performances in front of minors. And Florida and Texas have pushed measures restricting “drag queen story hours” accessible to children.

Returning to Perkins, he emphasizes that traditionalists must now keep the pressure on. To this end, here are some suggestions for renewing the culture:

• Since the side that defines the vocabulary of a debate wins the debate, control the language. For instance, it’s not “LGBTQ,” but “sexual devolutionary.” People don’t have “gender,” but the quality called “sex.” And it’s not “gay marriage,” but “faux marriage.” Using the Left’s preferred terminology ensures defeat.
• Don’t fall for left-wing sophistry and popular misconceptions. As an example, understand why I wrote that marriage has not been redefined but “undefined.” Healthy policy starts with clear thinking.
• Related to the above, avoid falling victim to “The Acceptance Con.” Remember, tolerance of the intolerable enables turpitude — and if you don’t control the culture, the culture will control you.

Culture wars are zero-sum games. If the right people don’t establish the social laws, the wrong people will — and corrupt governmental laws will follow after.