POLL: Yes, Americans Still Want Marriage Equality

Support for marriage equality in the U.S. has reached an all-time high, with nearly 60 percent of Americans now saying they support legal same-sex marriage, according to a new survey conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal.

The survey, conducted March 1 through 5, polled 1,000 American adults (four percent of whom self-identfied as gay or lesbian) and found that 59 percent of respondents were "in favor [of] allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into same-sex marriages."

These results mark a significant increase from the responses garnered a decade ago, according to NBC News. In 2004 just 30 percent of Americans polled said they supported same-sex marriage.

Last month the Human Rights Campaign released polling data that contained a nearly identical statistic on attitudes about marriage equality. According to HRC's results, 60 percent of Americans said they would support the right of same-sex couples to marry legally nationwide. That same poll also found that in states where marriage equality has already taken effect, the approval rate for same-sex marriage is as high 64 percent, and among those who are friends with married or committed same-sex couples, 75 percent support marriage equality.

These survey results come on the heels of the Supreme Court setting an April 28 date to hear oral arguments in a consolidated marriage equality case challenging voter-approved marriage bans still in force in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan. The high court could issue its ruling at any time after that April hearing, though most court-watchers expect a decision to be handed down near the end of the court's session in late June. Regardless of the conclusion of that ruling, it is expected to settle nationwide questions about the constitutional merits of marriage equality.