The Gallup Poll reports today ^[1], “For the first time in Gallup’s tracking of the issue, a majority of Americans (53%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.”

Here’s the history of Gallup’s polling on the issue:

Gallup notes that the shift results from a substantial increase in support among Democrats and independents in the past year, but support among Republicans didn’t budge from 28 percent. The most striking number, though, is that support among young people 18-34 soared from 54 to 70 percent, mostly reflecting a shift among men, who are now almost as supportive as women.

The new poll comes just two days after Cato’s forum, “The Case for Marriage Equality: Perry v. Schwarzenegger ^[2],” featuring the prominent lawyers David Boies and Theodore Olson, who represent the plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to strike down California’s Proposition 8. Find video of the event here ^[3]. The event also featured Robert A. Levy of the Cato Institute and John Podesta of the Center for American Progress, co-chairs of the advisory board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights ^[4], sponsor of the lawsuit. Read their Washington Post op-ed ^[5] on the case.