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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Mar 22, 2004 03:47pm
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MediaNews Service - Associated Press
News DateMonday, March 22, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionYoung Back Same-Sex Weddings More
The Honolulu Advertiser

While the majority of Americans oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, people younger than 30 have consistently been more supportive of it than their elders.

For instance, a poll taken last month for the National Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania showed that just over half of people ages 18 to 29 would oppose a law in their states that would allow lesbians and gay men to marry a same-sex partner. That compares with 61 percent of 30- to 44-year-olds; two-thirds of 45- to 64-year-olds; and 81 percent of those 65 and older. The poll also found that fewer than half of those younger than 30 supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Experts say the difference in attitudes can largely be tracked to young people's exposure to homosexuality in everyday life.

They grew up with gay activists protesting to get AIDS patients access to the latest drugs - and as government officials debated the issue of "don't ask, don't tell" in the military. Celebrities such as Melissa Etheridge and Ellen DeGeneres came out, and many TV shows have incorporated gay characters and themes. "Young people have a different idea of what is normal," says Frank Furstenberg, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist and senior research scholar at the Council on Contemporary Families.
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