President Obama: I Support Gay Marriage

Smith also points out that gay marriage is not as much a partisan issue as a religious one.

"With the exception of Iowa, if you look at the states that have legalized gay marriage, they are some of the least religious states in the country," he says. States that have legally sanctioned gay marriage are New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Iowa and Massachusetts. Washington and Maryland have passed laws allowing it that are facing voter approval in the fall and in Maine voters will also weigh in on a citizens' initiative to legalize it.

Meanwhile, 30 states have passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage and in all 32 instances that the question has been put to voters for popular approval it has failed.

A Pew Research Center Survey pegs support at 47 percent in 2012, up from 35 percent in 2001.

• Vote now on whether or not gay marriage should be legal nationally
• Read: Rumors swirl on Obama 'evolution' on gay marriage
• Follow U.S. News Debate Club on Twitter

Rebekah Metzler is a political writer for U.S. News & World Report. You can contact her at rmetzler@usnews.com or follow her on Twitter.

Reader Comments Read all comments (11)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.