A Gallup poll taken in May 2014 showed that Americans believed, 55 to 42 percent, that same-sex marriages should be legally recognized. A poll taken by the Associated Press in January and February 2015 showed that they favored laws in their states allowing same sex couples to be legally married, 49 to 44 percent. They split evenly at 48 percent on whether the Supreme Court should rule same-sex marriage legal on a nationwide basis.

But on the question of whether ‘wedding-related businesses’ — florists, photographers, and caterers — should be able to refuse to participate in a gay wedding, they said ‘yes’ by what was almost a 20-point margin, 57 to 39 percent. In this, they proved themselves more clear-headed, more fair and surely more rational than the national press and a great many liberals in understanding that the key word here is not “gay,” but “wedding,” as concerning not merely a commercial transaction, but involving a time-honored rite.