70% of online Americans oppose gay marriage

People have heard the argument that gay couples should have the same legal rights as heterosexuals when it comes to economic benefits and the argument that sanctioning gay marriage would hurt the sacred religious institution of marriage. 70% of Pew Internet survey respondents said they opposed gay marriage and 26% supported it. As of early July, 35% of internet users had gotten news about gay marriage online or through email. That represents over 44 million people. People were more likely to have frequent exposure to the arguments against legalizing gay marriage than for it. On average, respondents heard 2.3 arguments challenging legalization frequently, versus only 1.9 arguments supporting it frequently.

Of all the arguments being made in favor of gay marriage the most well-known was that gay couples are entitled to the same legal rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to things like health insurance and inheritance (85% of Americans had heard that). The most well-known argument against gay marriage was that marriage is a sacred religious institution that should be between a man and a woman (97% had heard that argument).