Youth's Openness To The Same Sex Marriages Worries Conservative Majority

A recent survey shows that young people are generally more open to Same Sex Marriages than their elders, which worries the conservatives that the society's drift toward ¡§normalizing¡¨ homosexuality. The trend fascinates Furstenberg and other academics. They wonder what the world will be like for lesbian and gay couples a couple decades from now.

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. Compare to 61 percent of 30- to 44-year-olds; 67 percent of 45- to 64-year-olds; and 81 percent of those 65 and older. Obviously, people younger than 30 have consistently been more open to same-sex marriage than their elders.

"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.

"These young people will one day become policy-makers, CEOs, religious leaders, parents and teachers," says Caitlin Ryan, a clinical social worker at San Francisco State University who studies gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and their families.

Experts say the difference in attitudes can largely be tracked to young people's exposure to homosexuality in everyday life. For instance, 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. There is even children book which is related to gay issue.

Matt Haltzman, a high school freshman in Barrington, R.I., says he doesn't think gay activists "need to be creating laws or creating a big ordeal." He says he firmly believes what he's learned in his Jewish religion classes: "Marriage is between a man and a woman."

Another young people say that knowing someone who is gay or lesbian has caused them to rethink their views. "We should be promoting love, while it lasts - and preventing hate," says Tara Laskowski, a 26-year-old graduate student at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Scott Davis, 25, youth director for Exodus International, a Florida-based group that promotes "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ,¡¨ says ¡§they are buying into it at higher rates than older generations, many of whom are married and understand from experience why it's important to have a mother and a father.¡¨

Michele Ammons, spokeswoman for the Christian Coalition, finds hope in the fact that some younger generations, particularly teens, are showing an interest in more conservative religious values. She points to the fact that many are flocking to see the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ."