On Thursday, the Pew Research Center released a comprehensive national survey on the attitudes and experiences of 1,197 of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. Mirroring the growing acceptance of LGBT equality among the general population, 92 percent of the respondents believe that society has become more accepting of them and that society will continue to become more accepting.

Despite these encouraging findings, violence and harassment remain a problem for LGBT Americans — 58 percent indicate being the subject of slurs or jokes, and almost one third report having been threatened or physically attacked.

And while American support for marriage equality continues to grow, the survey finds that the most common top priority for LGBT Americans is equal employment rights—such as those that would be implemented by the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Race and gender also figured heavily into feelings of acceptance among respondents. White LGBT respondents are more optimistic about future social acceptance than LGBT people of color.  As a whole, LGBT adults also generally agree that there is more acceptance of lesbian and bisexual women than there is for gay and bisexual men. Unfortunately, eight in ten respondents believe that there is little to no acceptance for transgender adults, despite encouraging progress in legal protections for transgender people.

When asked why they believe society is becoming more accepting of LGBT individuals, most believe it has to do with personally knowing someone who identifies as LGBT, knowing a public figure is LGBT, or encountering other non-LGBT people who support equality. Barack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres are cited as the two most important figures in advancing LGBT rights — 23 percent for Obama and 18 percent for Ellen DeGeneres. These findings underscore the importance of speaking out for LGBT equality.

Overall, the survey shows that LGBT Americans are positive about changing attitudes in America and continue to be more than a single-issue demographic.

Sasanka Jinadasa is an intern with LGBT Progress.

A new national poll from ABC News/The Washington Post confirms that a substantial majority support marriage equality nationwide, and even more support letting same-sex couples access the federal benefits of marriage.

The poll found that 57 percent support allowing same-sex couples to marry while only 40 percent oppose it, fairly consistent with the 58-36 result found in March. Beyond that, 63 percent support offering federal benefits, while only 34 percent are opposed, the same result found by NBC News/The Wall Street Journal in April.

With the Supreme Court’s rulings on Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act expected in the coming weeks, polling shows that arguments questioning whether the public is “ready” for marriage equality will fall flat.

At some point in the next three weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue its rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, and a new poll confirms that California voters are ready for full marriage equality. According to the University of Southern California and Los Angeles Times, 58 percent of registered California voters support marriage equality, while only 36 percent are opposed. As in other polls, those who had a gay friend or family members were more likely to support same-sex marriage (65 percent).

Several other polls have shown that Californians are ready to leave Prop 8 in the dustbin of history:

• June: 58-36 in support of marriage equality (USC/LA Times).
• May: 56-38 in support of marriage equality (Public Policy Institute of California).
• March: 67-30 in support of same-sex couples deserving the legal benefits of marriage (SurveyUSA).
• Februrary: 61-32 in support of marriage equality (Sacramento Bee).

Though many suspect the Supreme Court will not rule definitively on Proposition 8, instead allowing a lower court ruling to stand, the Justices cannot argue that public support is opposed to same-sex marriage. In fact, both in California and nationally, a majority consistently report that they approve of recognizing same-sex marriage. When the Supreme Court overturned bans on interracial marriage in 1967, only 20 percent of the American public supported allowing blacks and whites to marry. It wasn’t until over 20 years after Loving v. Virginia (1991) that a majority of Americans were on board with interracial marriage. The polling shows that in terms of justice, same-sex marriage equality is long overdue.

Results from the new NYT/CBS News poll.

Polling is not an exact science, and an individual poll should only be examined within the trend of other polling. This did not stop the National Organization for Marriage from championing a single poll that had conflicting results about how Americans feel about marriage equality and what they think the Supreme Court should do with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). According to results from the Huffington Post and YouGov, Americans are split 43-45 over whether the federal government should recognize same-sex marriages and 41-45 over whether the Supreme Court should overturn DOMA.

NOM’s Brian Brown claimed this was “the only poll that matters“:

For months and years activists bent on redefining marriage and striking down DOMA have argued that the Supreme Court should issue a sweeping ruling in favor of same-sex marriage because it is inevitable. This poll, and the only poll that matters — the free votes of citizens in over 2/3rds of American states — shows this is not true. The Supreme Court ought to uphold DOMA and uphold Proposition 8 and respect the pro-marriage views of millions of Americans.

Of course, there’s nothing about YouGov’s online opt-in process that makes it “free votes,” nor is there anything to distinguish it from other polling — with one exception. Unlike most phone polls, YouGov’s online polling allows respondents to answer “Not Sure,” which 12 percent did on the question of marriage equality and 14 percent did on the question of the Supreme Court’s action on DOMA. Brown neglects to mention this significant contingent of unsure respondents.

Polling over the past three years has consistently shown a majority of Americans support marriage equality, and two other reputable polls this week demonstrated just that. In addition to the Pew Research Center poll that found that even NOM’s would-be supporters think marriage is inevitable, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 51 percent of voters support marriage equality. More importantly, 56 percent believe the federal government should recognize the legal marriages of same-sex couples, while only 39 percent oppose it. These results jibe with a Quinnipiac poll from April, CNN and CBS polls from March, and the ABC News/Washington Post poll that found 58 percent of Americans support marriage equality. NOM did not write about any of those polls.

A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that 72 percent of Americans believe that nationwide marriage equality is “inevitable.” This includes 85 percent of people who support marriage equality, and even 59 percent of those who oppose it. There were not even significant differences across political lines; in fact, Republicans believe it’s inevitable (73 percent) just as much as Democrats (72 percent) and independents (74 percent).

The survey also assessed how familiar individuals are with gays and lesbians and found that 87 percent of Americans personally know someone gay, up from 61 percent in 1993. About half (49 percent) have a close friend or family member who is gay. Those who know a lot of gay people are twice as likely (68 percent) to support marriage equality as those who don’t (32 percent).

Polls have consistently shown that older Americans are less likely to morally approve of homosexuality and subsequently support LGBT equality at lower rates. A new Gallup poll, however, shows that for the first time in that poll’s history, a majority of Americans over the age of 55 morally accept “gay or lesbian relations”:

That support has nearly doubled since 2001, when only 26 percent of older adults morally approved of homosexuality. Of course, the population of people over the age of 55 includes many more younger people than it did in 2001, which could help explain the growing support. In the same poll, young people (ages 18-34) showed support at 74 percent, while middle-aged adults (ages 35-54) were still down around 54 percent.

Earlier this year, the Republican National Committee issued a report suggesting the party should be more inclusive, but not of LGBT people. Party leaders like Reince Priebus and Jeb Bush have suggested that the GOP continue to oppose marriage equality, but find a sugarcoated way to talk about it. Now a new report from the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) similarly suggests that the party simply not emphasize its opposition to LGBT equality so as to appear more attractive to young voters.

The CRNC conducted a survey that found that 44 percent of young voters believe marriage equality should be legal. It’s unclear if the sample was all Republicans or a more random political sample, but national polling has showed support as high as 81 percent among the same age group. About half of that 44 percent (26 percent of the whole) told the CRNC that opposition to marriage equality was a deal-breaker, even if a candidate agreed with them on many other issues.

Of course, the report does not recommend changing positions on marriage equality within the party. Instead, it suggests that if Republican candidates just keep their opposition to LGBT rights quiet, they might be able to win over young people on other issues:

It is important for Republicans to bear in mind that young voters warmed to President Obama long before his position on gay marriage “evolved,” and that there is no consensus in either party on the issue. Additionally, there is a “middle ground” approach of letting states decide the issue, a position that has been espoused by some prominent Republicans like Marco Rubio. Nonetheless, there is hardly an appetite from this generation to see the GOP crusade against same-sex marriage.

In the short run, as we wait for the Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, the best course of action for the party may be to promote the diversity of opinion on the issue within its ranks (after all, for quite some time, former vice president Dick Cheney was to the left of President Obama on same-sex marriage) and to focus on acceptance and support for gay people as separate from the definition of marriage.

Where the Republican Party will run into the most trouble over this issue is when it is not winning on any of the more prominent issues, either – the economy and spending. If a candidate is compelling enough on economic opportunity and spending, they may well be able to overcome a difference of opinion with young voters on same-sex marriage.

To be clear, Sen. Marcio Rubio (R-FL) very much opposes marriage equality — that’s the position he thinks states should take when they decide. It’s not a “middle ground” by any definition of the term. And it seems unlikely that a candidate who opposes marriage equality but simply points to other candidates or party leaders who support it is going to endear any voters. It’s certainly not a tactic any candidate is likely to try anyway.

It seems the Republican Party can only fathom one possible strategy for dealing with the issue of marriage equality (and subsequently any issue related to LGBT people): avoid it. They don’t want to recognize who LGBT people or what they’re experiencing as members of society or what policies would help protect their families. Instead, they just want to pretend that their opposition to equality is a non-issue and hope that young voters simply won’t notice how they continue to campaign and legislate against civil rights.