Opinion: A new measure of tolerance for gays?

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The Zogby polling organization has released a startling finding: More than 60% of American voters say they would elect an openly gay president.

The notion that anyone can grow up to be president –- preposterous as it may be –- long has served as a metaphor for the openness and fairness of Americans society. That a majority of Americans say they would vote for an otherwise qualified gay candidate for the White House is thus a symbolic milestone. It also is consistent with other polls indicating a shift in attitudes toward homosexuality, particularly among young people. In May, in the aftermath of the California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, a Field Poll concluded that 51 percent of California voters favored allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. (The sample size was 1,052 registered voters.)

Critics of the poll will insist that it’s an aberration or nitpick the methodology. It can be argued, for example, that the poll doesn’t reflect the homophobic equivalent of the Bradley Effect (named for former LA Mayor Tom Bradley). That is the theory that some voters, asked if they will support an African-American candidate, say yes even when they don’t mean it.

But suppose the response to the Zogby poll is inflated by some respondents’ belief that it is politically incorrect to oppose gay rights. That in itself is a statement about how far gays and lesbians have come in achieving public acceptance.