Washington, D.C. — A new Pew research poll shows that the percentage of Americans who support gay marriage is continuing to grow.

Pew found that 47 percent of Americans now want to allow gay and lesbians couples to marry, up from 39 percent in 2008.

Today, 43 percent of Americans are opposed, down from 51 percent in 2008. In 2004, 60 percent were opposed.

The strength of people's convictions on this issue are also shifting. The 2012 results show that 22 percent of Americans are strongly supportive of gay marriage; 22 percent are strongly opposed.

That's an improvement for the LGBT community over 2008, when 30 percent "strongly opposed" gay marriage and 14 percent were for it.