MAJORITY BACKS FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT: Steve Koval

The timing of the election of Pope Benedict XVI yesterday and the "all Pope -- all the time" news coverage probably worked out well for gays. It hid some disturbing Gallup Poll numbers released yesterday on gay marriage:

"[P]ublic support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would define marriage as 'being between a man and a woman, thus barring marriages between gay or lesbian couples' has now risen to 57 percent in a recent Gallup poll, the highest measured across the seven times the question has been asked using this wording since the summer of 2003. The poll, conducted March 18-20, shows that 37 percent of Americans oppose such a constitutional amendment. Support has ranged from a previous high point of 53 percent in February 2004 to a low point of 48 percent last July to the current 57 percent"

Here is the breakdown by party favoring/opposing a constitutional amendment barring gay marriages: Republicans support the amendment 71-24 percent, Independents back it 51-45 percent, and Democrats oppose it 45 to 47 percent.
Despite the increase in support for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage, the combined support for gay marriage and civil unions is still slightly greater than the opposition to these.

The most recent poll asked:

"Which of the following arrangements between gay or lesbian couples do you think should be recognized as legally valid: same-sex marriages, civil unions, but not same-sex marriages, or neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions?"

Same-sex marriage and civil unions were favored by 47 percent (20 percent for same-sex marriage and 27 percent for civil unions), while 45 percent were not in favor or either. In a November 2004 poll, 53 percent favored same-sex marriage and civil unions.

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posted by Eve at 4:08 PM VOTE

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