A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows a dramatic increase in the past four years in support of same-sex marriage, a topic that took center stage as the Supreme Court announced its plan to rule for the first time on the subject.

“There has got to be some sort of improvement going on,” said Audrey Rosenberg, 20, a gay student at the University of Southern California. “If I could express to you how much I hated the fact that I was gay my freshman year of high school compared to how I feel now, which is just completely blasé about the entire topic…things have changed so much in just the past few years.”

On December 7, the Supreme Court announced its plant to discuss the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment passed in 2008 that only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman in the state of California.

According to a 2008 Pew Research Center study, only 39 percent of the nation was in favor of allowing same-sex marriage when Proposition 8 passed. However, two weeks before the 2012 election in which the topic of same-sex marriage was fiercely debated, approval ratings reached an all time high of 49 percent.

Sarah Cueva, 20, a junior at USC, is one of these statistics. She grew up in a conservative area in Orange County where many people were against same-sex
marriage primarily for religious reasons. However, in the past few years, Cueva has altered her views.

“Now I support it completely,” said Cueva. “If I were gay, I wouldn’t want that denied to me. It’s a completely personal thing and it’s not something that the government or anyone else should have any say in.”

Acceptance of gay marriage within religious organizations has played a crucial role in this increased approval. In 2009, closely following the establishment of Proposition 8, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America began allowing non-celibate homosexuals to serve as Lutheran clergy members.

Today, even religious organizations known for being adamantly against same-sex marriage have recently begun more open discussion of the previously taboo subject. Two weeks ago, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched a website called “Love One Another: A Discussion on Same-Sex Attraction.” The site offers homosexuals “love, understanding, and hope,” and is intended “to encourage understanding and civil conversation about same-sex attraction.”

Matt Ball, Director of Public Affairs in the Northwest Area for the church, says this is not a new point of view for them, but is simply a more public means of sparking discussion about and offering aid to homosexuals.

“We don’t want them to feel alienated or ostracized,” said Ball. “Homosexuals are not criticized any more than heterosexuals are for having the attraction, but the church considers acting upon any attraction outside of the bond of marriage a transgression. We all have our challenges, but how we respond to them is key.”

Trey Dayton, 22, a gay graduate student at Stony Brook University, agrees that expressing one’s sexuality is a decision, but he believes that it is also a necessity.While Dayton may not completely agree with Ball, he acknowledges the church’s willingness to engage in conversation about same-sex marriage as a sign of progress.

“We’re not in the 50’s anymore,” said Dayton. “People don’t think gay people don’t exist anymore. We seem to have established ourselves as humans. Now we need to assert our rights.”

Tony Abatemarco, an openly gay theater teacher at the USC, says he has witnessed a clear change in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community as it shifts its attention from mere recognition to assertion of equal rights. Abatemarco believes the community is deliberately crafting a more powerful image by disassociating itself from the AIDS epidemic and other factors that might contribute to an image of weakness in order to make gains in civil rights.

“The time for victimhood is over. The time for civil rights has come,” said Abatemarco.

Virginia Millacci, 24, who works for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center with a program called “Vote for Equality” and is gay herself, agrees that this increase in acceptance is largely attributable to efforts within the gay community. “Vote for Equality” encourages members of the LGBT community to speak to supporters of Proposition 8 to gain insight into their beliefs and persuade them to reconsider their views on same-sex marriage and LGBT people in general by using a tactic she called “The Persuasion Recipe.”

“In this past election, we made a real effort to identify voters in the middle on the topic and instead of barking at them about civil rights, we let them know that their vote has an impact on humanity,” said Millacci.

Millacci believes that sharing real-life experiences with voters forces them to consider the consequences of their decisions. She recalled her conversation with one Los Angeles resident who was in favor of Proposition 8.

“I asked him about his life,” said Millacci. “He spoke about his wife, who he said was the most beautiful person he had ever met in his life. I told him that I don’t have that in my life but I know that if I ever did, I’d want to be able to call her my wife. That’s what clicked with him. The personal story is what changes hearts and minds.”

But Millacci is concerned that the LGBT community is putting too much of an emphasis on same-sex marriage and is neglecting other issues concerning the community. She referenced the failure of Proposition 5 in Anchorage, Alaska last April that would have provided protections for people regardless of sexual orientation as an example of this neglect.

Ultimately though, Millacci believes the emphasis on same-sex marriage is both helpful to the cause and a logical step for the community.

“Gay marriage is used as a vehicle to transcend barriers and talk about prejudice,” said Millacci. “I think we focus so much on it because marriage is a symbol of love and there’s this idea that who we love isn’t good enough. If you’re gay, you simply love differently and that’s that.”

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