In a few days, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two same-sex marriage cases and the timing is fortuitous. Ever since last May, when President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage (after being beaten to the punch by Vice President Joe Biden), other high-profile leaders have also indicated that they favor allowing same-sex couples to wed. These have included the leadership of national organizations (NAACP), prominent Republicans (former Governor Jon Huntsman and Ohio Senator Rob Portman), and this week, former megachurch pastor Rob Bell and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Professional athletes have stood in support, and celebrities have come out of the closet (Anderson Cooper just received a GLAAD Media Award in New York City). A new ABC News-Washington Post poll shows a record high 58 percent of registered voters nationwide supporting marriage equality. In a side note that the Supreme Court justices (or their clerks) will undoubtedly notice, that same poll has voters agreeing that the U.S. Constitution should be the basis for deciding if gay couples can marry rather than leaving the decision to individual states (64 percent to 33 percent).
The high court, not known for getting ahead of public opinion, can issue favorable rulings on the Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage Act cases this year with the realization that a majority of the public is now on the side of equality. Forward momentum is growing in spite of the passage in California of Proposition 22 with 61 percent of the vote 13 years ago.
Chad Griffin, who helped orchestrate the federal Prop 8 case that the court will hear Tuesday and who is now president of the Human Rights Campaign, said this week that "there can be no doubt that this country is on a one-way road to marriage for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples."
"This new poll reflects the continued evolution of people's attitudes through thoughtful conversations over dinner tables and water coolers," he added.
In many respects he is correct. For years state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and other political leaders have maintained that as more of these conversations happen – and as more LGBT people come out to friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors – attitudes will shift. The president famously cited his "evolution" on the marriage equality issue, but he is by no means alone. When Portman reversed his position on same-sex marriage, he said he had changed his mind because his son is gay and came out to him two years ago. Since then, Portman told reporters, he has talked with friends and clergy and concluded that he wanted his son to have the same opportunities his siblings have, "to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years."
In short, that evolution is happening with more frequency. Among Republican voters ages 18-49, support for the freedom to marry is 52 percent to 43 percent, according to the Republican National Committee's "Growth and Opportunity Project" report, which takes a critical look at why the party lost the last presidential election.
By coming out in support of same-sex marriage, Clinton is clearly keeping her options open for a presidential run in 2016. And she has an excellent record working to expand LGBT rights around the world during her four-year tenure as secretary of state.
In the announcement, which she made directly in an HRC video, Clinton argues that gays and lesbians are "full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That's why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law."
The timing of Clinton's statement was "natural," a spokesperson told CBS News, given the Supreme Court's upcoming arguments.
The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decisions in June – but no matter the outcome we can be confident that public support for same-sex marriage is growing as more states are in line to pass marriage equality laws and public opinion continues in our favor.