Number of the Day

53%: The number of USians who think same-sex marriage should be legal, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, taken after President Obama's statement that he personally supports marriage equality.

That is an all-time high.

Those who think same-sex marriage should be illegal has fallen to 39%, an all-time low.

Only six years ago, the same poll found just 36% of respondents in support of legal same-sex marriage. A 17% increase in support in six years might not seem like a lot, especially when support is still only at 53%, but to put that into perspective, I want to quote again this old John Rogers post:

[W]hen the Supreme Court struck down the bans against interracial marriage in 1968 through Virginia vs. Loving, SEVENTY-TWO PERCENT of Americans were against interracial marriage. As a matter of fact, approval of interracial marriage in the US didn't cross the positive threshold until -- sweet God – 1991.

It took 23 years for support of interracial marriage to move 23 points.

Fifty-three percent isn't good enough; I expect more. (Way more.) But nothing rejuvenates a tired teaspoonin' arm like evidence of meaningful progress.

UPDATE: Relatedly, General Colin Powell tells Wolf Blitzer he doesn't "see any reason not to say that [committed same-sex couples] should be able to get married." He uses the same "they're just like us, raising kids and all that!" language as did the president, bleh, but still. This is the power of the bully pulpit: The President has made it a viable position to publicly hold.