Bauer Claims “Overwhelming Majority” Of Americans Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

Bauer: “The Overwhelming Majority Of The American People Think That Marriage Is Between A Man And A Woman.” On the January 10 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson interviewed American Values President Gary Bauer about his support for GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum. After a clip of Santorum being booed during a forum at New England College was aired, Bauer said:

BAUER: I suspect, or at least I've read, that the booing was because -- shock of all shocks -- he thinks marriage should be between a man and a woman. That's what, of course, for several thousand years, marriage has been. The booers aren't offering much to the debate. Look, the overwhelming majority of the American people think that marriage is between a man and a woman. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/10/12]

But Bauer Is Wrong: Polls Show Majority Of Americans Support Gay Marriage

March 2011: Wash. Post-ABC Poll Finds 53 Percent Of Americans Support Gay Marriage And 44 Percent Oppose. From a March 18, 2011, Washington Post article:

A slim majority of Americans now support gay marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The results underscore the nation's increasingly tolerant views about homosexuals, and parallel a string of recent legal and legislative victories for gay rights advocates.

Five years ago, at 36 percent, support for gay marriage barely topped a third of all Americans. Now, 53 percent say gay marriage should be legal, marking the first time in Post-ABC polling that a majority has said so. [The Washington Post, 3/18/11]

April 2011: CNN/Opinion Research Poll Finds 51 Percent Of Public Supports Gay Marriage And 47 Percent Oppose. An April 2011 poll conducted by CNN and Opinion Research found: "[M]ore than half of all Americans believe that marriages between gay or lesbian couples should be legally valid. With 51 percent of respondents saying that same-sex marriages should be legal, it is the first time that a CNN poll has found majority support for same-sex marriage." [CNN, Political Ticker, 4/19/11]

May 2011: Public Religion Research Institute Poll Finds 51 Percent Of Americans Support Gay Marriage And 43 Percent Oppose. A May 19, 2011, Public Religion Research Institute poll found that 51 percent of Americans favor “allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, compared to 43% percent [sic] who are opposed.” [Public Religion Research Institute, 5/19/11]

May 2011: Gallup Poll Shows 53 Percent Of Americans Support Gay Marriage And 45 Percent Oppose. In a May 20, 2011, report on one of its polls, Gallup wrote, “For the first time in Gallup's tracking of the issue, a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.”

The report included this graph showing Gallup's findings on the question since 1996:

[Gallup, 5/20/11]

July 2011: Wash. Post-ABC Poll Finds 51 Percent Of Public Supports Gay Marriage And 45 Percent Oppose. A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted from July 14-17, 2011, found that 51 percent of respondents said it should be “legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married,” while 45 percent said it should be “illegal.” [The Washington Post, accessed 1/10/12]