NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Just one month after an historic Supreme Court ruling on sodomy, Americans' acceptance of homosexuality has plummeted, a new poll shows.
The new USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll released July 28 shows that a plurality of Americans -- 49 percent -- do not consider homosexuality "an acceptable alternative lifestyle" and that 57 percent are opposed to homosexual civil unions.
The poll of 1,006 adults reverses poll numbers released in May as well as trends from recent years. It also goes against cultural trends showing an ever-increasing promotion of homosexuality in the media and in education circles.
Peter LaBarbera, senior policy analyst with the Culture and Family Institute in Washington, told Baptist Press the poll may indicate that "people are getting sick and tired of the media and Hollywood shoving homosexuality in their face at every turn."
Perhaps not coincidentally, the reverse of poll numbers follows the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that overturned state anti-sodomy laws. LaBarbera said the Canadian government's decision to legalize same-sex marriage also might have influenced the poll.
Interestingly, the new poll along with another Gallup poll in mid-July after the Supreme Court ruling show a drop in acceptance of homosexuality:
-- In May, by a 59 percent to 37 percent margin, Americans said that homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal. A poll in mid-July found support for legalization had dropped to 50 percent, with 44 percent opposed. The latest Gallup poll shows an even bigger drop -- 48 percent now are for legalization, 46 percent opposed.
-- Fifty-four percent of Americans in May said that homosexuality should be considered "an acceptable alternative lifestyle" while 43 percent said it should not be acceptable.
The latest Gallup poll finds that a plurality, 49 percent, believe homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle. Forty-six percent say it is acceptable.
-- While Americans were split 49 to 49 percent on the issue of civil unions in May, they are now overwhelmingly opposed to them. Forty percent favor them, 57 percent are opposed.
The Gallup poll taken in mid-July did not ask respondents their opinions on civil unions or on homosexuality being an acceptable lifestyle. Also, the new poll did not ask Americans their opinions about same-sex "marriage."
In other recent news involving homosexual issues:
Support Grows
The Federal Marriage Amendment has more than 75 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, the Alliance for Marriage announced July 28. The amendment would add language to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex "marriage."
TV Low?
On July 24 NBC aired "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," a show in which five homosexual men attempt to teach a heterosexual man about style. The show, which NBC said was airing only once on the network, is shown every week on NBC's cable affiliate, Bravo.
Now Bravo is launching another homosexual-themed program, "Boy Meets Boy," which Bravo's website says is "television's first gay dating series." Besides the obvious, the show has a twist: Some of the men are heterosexual.
Focus on the Family's Glenn Stanton told Baptist Press that such shows "absolutely" contribute to the normalization of homosexuality.
"You might have a lot of people who just look at them and think, 'My goodness, what kind of freak show is that?'" said Stanton, Focus of the Family's director of social research and cultural affairs. "But the more they see it ... the more normalized it becomes and the less radical of a proposition it is."
