Washington Post-ABC poll shows most Americans are okay with gay marriage
‘More than half of Americans say it should be legal for gays and lesbians to marry, a first in nearly a decade of polls by ABC News and The Washington Post. This milestone result caps a dramatic, long-term shift in public attitudes. From a low of 32 percent in a 2004 survey of registered voters, support for gay marriage has grown to 53 percent today. Forty-four percent are opposed, down 18 points from that 2004 survey.”
Results released from the latest Washington Post-ABC poll of 1005 Americans, done via phone. The question asked was: “Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?” (ABC pdf)
According to the survey, “whites and non-whites” and men and women stated equal support for same-sex marriage rights. However, conservatives and Republicans remain strongly opposed. Democrats and Independents are mostly in favor. Liberals are strongly in favor. A marked improvement is noted among white Catholics. Evangelicals, meanwhile, remain opposed but exhibit improvement. People under 39 express solid support, while those over 65 are mostly opposed, and the middle-aged population is fairly evenly split.
”Bob Barr, the Republican Congressman who wrote DOMA, and Bill Clinton, the Democratic President who signed it, have repudiated DOMA and called for its overturning, and members of Congress who voted for DOMA, such as Senators Chuck Schumer and Patty Murray, came together earlier this week to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill introduced to repeal the discriminatory law.”
Statement by Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry in reference to Americans’ growing support for same-sex marriages. (FreedomToMarry)
”The only poll that counts is a free and fair vote on the part of the people…. We’ve seen these biased polls time and time again — right before votes in which same-sex marriage is rejected. It’s absurd. The people of this country have not changed their opinion about marriage.”
Brian Brown, head of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), an organization dedicated to suppressing gay rights. (Washington Post)
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