Who supports equal rights for same-sex couples? Evidence from Australia

Minority stress theory identifies the existence of a hostile social environment as an important factor limiting the life chances of non-heterosexual people, with discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals having its roots in negative attitudes and perceptions. In this paper we examine the extent of, trends in and correlates of support for the rights of samesex couples in contemporary Australia. We use using longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey spanning from 2005 to 2015. We find high and rapidly growing support of equal rights for same- and different-sex couples. Support for equal rights is greater amongst female, non-heterosexual, younger, higher-income, degreeeducated and non-religious individuals. Over time, all population groups express greater support, but subgroup differences have sometimes widened (e.g. by religiosity) and sometimes narrowed (e.g. by sexual identity). These findings have significant implications for pressing social issues, including ongoing public debates on marriage equality, and for trends in social disadvantage by sexual identity