Inside the Stunning Revolution in American Attitudes and Law on Same-Sex Marriage

Beyond Politics

In 2004, the Pew Research Center poll found that Americans opposed same-sex marriage 60% to 31%. But a series of legal rulings, cultural shifts, prominent gay figures in entertainment becoming wildly popular, and growing advocacy changed the entire tenor of the debate. By 2019, Pew polling on that same question of what we now call marriage equality had totally flipped: 61% supported same-sex marriage, while 31% opposed it.

This represented the most rapid and profound change in American attitudes on any social issue since we had any measurements. So how did it happen? Our guest today is Sasha Issenberg. He’s one of the most insightful and widely-read journalists in America, especially when it comes to dissecting what’s happening behind the curtain in American politics. He’s the author of The Engagement: America’s Quarter Century Struggle Over Same Sex Marriage, a fascinating look behind the scenes of both sides in the marriage equality fight. He’s here to tell us the inside story of what really happened.