A new AP-National Constitution Center Poll finds that individuals who oppose marriage equality — including President Obama — are quickly falling outside of the political mainstream, as a growing number of individuals are now embracing the idea. Support for marriage has exceeded the 50 percent mark in at least 17 states, but now, for the first time, a national poll has found that 52% of Americans believe that the federal government should “give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex”:

This poll comes on the heels of another survey which found that a majority of Americans are also saying that “their definition of family includes same-sex couples with children, as well as married gay and lesbian couples.” The increasing visibility of LGBT issues, positive media representations, and the coming out of family members and friends have all contributed to the increase in support. Significantly, the nation crossed the 50 percent mark on marriage after Judge Walker’s Prop 8 decision, suggesting that his ruling (and the GOP’s quiet response) may have also played some role in changing hearts and minds.

Still, popular support does not necessarily translate into political action or repeal the many state prohibitions against extending marriage benefits to gays and lesbians. Backers of marriage are much more likely to live in large cities on the coast, giving senators from middle America almost no political reason to support the policy. But as the younger younger new voters come of age, and as their older counterparts exit the voting pool, it’s likely that support will only increase — as will the political will to actually do something about it.

The poll also found that 58 percent of Americans believe that “couples of the same sex (should) be entitled to the same government benefits as married couples of the opposite sex.” Fifty-six percent also agree that “Judges should interpret laws broadly, taking into account the broader interests of the nation.”

As the Senate prepares to vote for cloture on the Defense Authorization Bill that includes a gradual repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Democrats are conceding that they may not have 60 votes to halt a GOP filibuster and worry that moderate Republicans like Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins may be faltering in their initial support for the measure. The Serivcemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) has recruited Lady Gaga to headline a pro-repeal rally at the University of Southern Maine in Portland today to pressure the two moderate senators, but as the Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson pointed out on Friday, new anxieties are emerging. The GOP is pressuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) to allow the Senate to consider more Republican amendments during floor debate and the disagreement “has made moving forward with the defense authorization bill “a partisan issue” for senators who would have otherwise voted in favor of cloture.” “Republicans would have liked to have seen additional amendments considered and so the party leaders on both the majority and minority side are holding their caucuses to these procedural issues on party line,” Fred Sainz, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of communications and marketing, told Johnson.

In light of this stagnation, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John Shalikashvili — who is already on record in favor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — has written a letter to Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging them to move forward with the defense measure:

In particular, I support the DADT repeal language that passed through the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year and is currently part of the pending legislation.

The Pentagon is currently conducting a study on how to implement a policy of open service. Congressional repeal is vital for the Pentagon to implement their findings, whatever they may be. As I have said before, repeal strikes down the law that straitjackets military leaders’ ability to craft a sensible and practical policy about open service. Most importantly, the current repeal language allows the Pentagon the time it may need to answer any questions about how to actually implement the change.

Additionally, repeal would allow military leaders to make personnel decisions based on a person’s skills, experience, and overall job performance. Reflecting on my own service and experience, I’m quite confident that sexual orientation does not impact a person’s ability to defuse IEDs, provide medical care for someone wounded the line of duty, or translate intercepted enemy intelligence into English.

Many Republicans still object to the DADT amendment, citing the objections of the four service chiefs in moving forward with repeal before the Pentagon completes its review of the policy. But those concerns seem overstated. At the Air Force Association’s fall conference over the weekend, for instance, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz said that “[i]f the law changes, there is no doubt in my mind that all airmen in the U.S. Air Force will implement the change professionally, thoroughly and effectively.” Similarly Marine Corps Commandant and strong DADT supporter Gen. James Conway has said, “And if the law changes and we have homosexual Marines, we’ll be as concerned about their rights, their privileges, their morale, as we will Marines who feel differently about that whole paradigm.” He added that local commanders will be required “to assist us in making sure that every Marine is provided for and is focused on the fight at hand.”

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