General Colin Powell, who has served in high positions in Republican administrations, has announced that he supports same sex marriage.

Following President Obama’s expression of support for gay marriage, Gen. Powell’s declaration is additional evidence that the president’s statement represented a “tipping point,” which signals even faster shifts in public opinion on the issue.

Recent polls show that support for same sex marriage is stronger among African Americans than the population at large.  But that’s not all:

Even as organized Catholicism in the United States has announced support for a Constitutional amendment banning same sex unions, a slight majority of people who identify as Catholics supports gay marriage, just a bit more than the general population.