Tolerance is on the march

A new poll finds that a majority of Americans surveyed still opposes same sex marriage, but that the number is down significantly from two years ago.

Gay marriage remains a divisive issue, with 51 percent opposing it, the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found. But almost two-thirds, 63 percent, opposed gay marriage in February 2004.

"Most Americans still oppose gay marriage, but the levels of opposition are down and the number of strong opponents are down," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "This has some implications for the midterm elections if this trend is maintained. There are gay marriage ballot initiatives in numerous states."

Advocates of same-sex marriage would be mistaken to read more into this than there is. Gay marriage opponents will accelerate their efforts to rally their base as election day draws closer.