READ FULL STORY HEREAs the battle to uphold or repeal California’s Proposition 8 law rages on in court same sex couples and gay marriage advocates have some reason to rejoice.
For the first time on record a major poll now shows a narrow majority of American voters in favor of allowing gay and lesbian couples the constitutional right to wed. The recent survey conducted by CNN / Opinion Research of 935-registered voters shows that by a margin of 52-46% most believe gays and lesbians have both the constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law.
In truth these figures were culled from a smaller sample of 496-voters within the overall pool of those surveyed and a substantial margin of error (+/- 4.5%) needs to be considered. Another smaller sample of 513-voters within the broader survey was also asked the question with slightly different language. The word “should” was omitted in favor of emphasizing the “have” in a question regarding the legal marriage rights of same-sex couples. Yet even here nearly half of responders (49%) favored the constitutionality of gay marriage. Combining the scores the CNN polls finds that a small majority of American voters (50.5%) now support the legal right for same-sex marriage against those (48.5%) who do not.
The CNN survey could be hailed as something of a public opinion landmark for gay-rights advocates in their long struggle for full equality under law. Most polls in recent years have shown growing social acceptance of homosexuals in society and culture but in terms of legally recognizing their right to marry it has always stopped short of reaching majority levels.
Gallup polled adults on the topic in May of this year and found support vs. opposition for same-sex marriage still lingered at just 44-53%. In April a CBS / New York Times poll found that 39% of American adults favored granted gay couple the right to marry but a majority either preferred the status of civil unions (24%), or chose to grant no legal recognition whatsoever (30%). ABC News / Washington Post data from February showed a modest 50-47% divide between the number of those opposed to and supporting gay marriage. Last October meanwhile NBC News / Wall Street Journal found 41% of the public strongly or somewhat in favor of same-sex marriage and 49% against.
It will be interesting to see what sort of influence the Proposition 8 battle has on the current levels of support. Are more people tuning in to the debate and expressing greater support for same-sex marriage rights because of the highly publicized court case? And will these numbers settle back in to their recently typical levels of support in the low to mid-40 percentiles once the debate passes? Additionally is the general status quo being echoed by other recent polls that show support for same-sex marriage as still a minority viewpoint and this most recent CNN poll as little more than statistical noise? Or is this new poll simply the first of many to reveal the facts of a growing trend?
More polling is needed to confirm the growing levels of support collected here by CNN / Opinion Research as legitimate. Meanwhile the country focuses on California’s struggle to either uphold the sanctity of traditional marriage or to clear the way for legal recognition of all couples. Same-sex marriage is currently granted by five states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut) and the District of Columbia. It is also recognized but not legally performed in the states of New York, Maryland and Rhode Island.
For the first time on record a major poll now shows a narrow majority of American voters in favor of allowing gay and lesbian couples the constitutional right to wed. The recent survey conducted by CNN / Opinion Research of 935-registered voters shows that by a margin of 52-46% most believe gays and lesbians have both the constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law.
In truth these figures were culled from a smaller sample of 496-voters within the overall pool of those surveyed and a substantial margin of error (+/- 4.5%) needs to be considered. Another smaller sample of 513-voters within the broader survey was also asked the question with slightly different language. The word “should” was omitted in favor of emphasizing the “have” in a question regarding the legal marriage rights of same-sex couples. Yet even here nearly half of responders (49%) favored the constitutionality of gay marriage. Combining the scores the CNN polls finds that a small majority of American voters (50.5%) now support the legal right for same-sex marriage against those (48.5%) who do not.
The CNN survey could be hailed as something of a public opinion landmark for gay-rights advocates in their long struggle for full equality under law. Most polls in recent years have shown growing social acceptance of homosexuals in society and culture but in terms of legally recognizing their right to marry it has always stopped short of reaching majority levels.
Gallup polled adults on the topic in May of this year and found support vs. opposition for same-sex marriage still lingered at just 44-53%. In April a CBS / New York Times poll found that 39% of American adults favored granted gay couple the right to marry but a majority either preferred the status of civil unions (24%), or chose to grant no legal recognition whatsoever (30%). ABC News / Washington Post data from February showed a modest 50-47% divide between the number of those opposed to and supporting gay marriage. Last October meanwhile NBC News / Wall Street Journal found 41% of the public strongly or somewhat in favor of same-sex marriage and 49% against.
It will be interesting to see what sort of influence the Proposition 8 battle has on the current levels of support. Are more people tuning in to the debate and expressing greater support for same-sex marriage rights because of the highly publicized court case? And will these numbers settle back in to their recently typical levels of support in the low to mid-40 percentiles once the debate passes? Additionally is the general status quo being echoed by other recent polls that show support for same-sex marriage as still a minority viewpoint and this most recent CNN poll as little more than statistical noise? Or is this new poll simply the first of many to reveal the facts of a growing trend?
More polling is needed to confirm the growing levels of support collected here by CNN / Opinion Research as legitimate. Meanwhile the country focuses on California’s struggle to either uphold the sanctity of traditional marriage or to clear the way for legal recognition of all couples. Same-sex marriage is currently granted by five states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut) and the District of Columbia. It is also recognized but not legally performed in the states of New York, Maryland and Rhode Island.
PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES / JUSTIN SULLIVAN
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