New Majority Says Gays Are Morally A-OK

The number of Americans who now say being gay is morally acceptable has skyrocketed over the past 12 years.

According to Gallup, a record 59% of people believe being gay or lesbian is completely cool, a 19 point gain since 2001, when George W. Bush was in office and only 40% of the nation said the same.

So, what's behind this shift, besides more people coming out to friends and relatives? Well, Gallup believes news coverage of ongoing activism helps, too. "Gay and lesbian relations in particular continue to be at the forefront of the news in the U.S. An increasing number of states have legalized same-sex marriage, and the Supreme Court has several pending decisions on same-sex marriage cases. This resulting increase in awareness of and attention being paid to the gay and lesbian community may be affecting Americans' views."

These numbers come after the same agency found another record amount of support for the idea that people are born gay, 47%.

In other "morally acceptable" news, more Americans have cooled their judgement of divorce, sex before marriage, having a baby outside of marriage and stem cell research. Surprisingly, more Americans now also support polygamy, though not many: only 14%. Still, that's a 7 point increase since 2001. Conservatives will of course have a field day with this news.