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Loading ...Poll: Majority support gay couple rights
12.03.2008 3:30pm EST
(New York City) The first national survey on LGBT rights since the passage of Proposition 8 in California shows that three-quarters of Americans favor either marriage or domestic partnerships/civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
Gay and lesbian couples are able to marry in two states, and comprehensive civil union or domestic partnership laws exist in only five others and the District of Columbia.Only about two in 10 say gay and lesbian couples should have no legal recognition.
The Pulse of Equality Survey was conducted by Harris Interactive for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
When it comes to deciding between marriage and civil unions the survey found that the public is about evenly divided with 47 percent favoring marriage and 49 supporting civil unions.
The survey also found a majority of Americans favor a broad range of other LGBT policies and legal protections.
Nearly seven out of 10 U.S. adults said they would oppose laws that would ban qualified gay and lesbian couples from adopting children.
More than sixty percent favor expanding hate crime laws to cover gay and transgender people.
Currently there is not federal hate crime law covering LGBT people. Hate crimes laws cover gay and transgender people in 11 states and the District of Columbia, and an additional 20 states’ laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.
A slight majority favor protecting gay and transgender people under existing laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Existing non-discrimination laws cover gay and transgender people in only 12 states and the District of Columbia, and eight other states’ laws cover sexual orientation but not gender identity.
Almost two-thirds of those polled said they favor allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces.
The telephone survey among 2,008 U.S. adults ages 18 and older was conducted from Nov. 13-17.
“In the Pulse of Equality survey, we observed a positive relationship between knowing a gay or transgender person and one’s attitudes toward them and the policy issues that affect their lives,” said Laura Light, Vice President of Public Relations Research for Harris Interactive.
“Based on other surveys we have conducted on attitudes toward LGBT people and issues, the results of this survey suggest that public sentiment in the U.S. is trending toward greater acceptance of gay- and transgender-related policy issues.”
Across the LGBT-related policy proposals, there were statistically significant differences in support with respect to age, gender, race/ethnicity and religion.
People under 65, and especially those 18-34, were more supportive than people over 65. Women were generally more supportive than men, with women age 18-34 often being more supportive than other segments. Hispanics were more supportive than Whites and African-Americans in showing strong support for allowing openly gay military personnel to serve in the armed forces. African Americans were more strongly supportive than Whites and Hispanics of expanding existing hate crimes laws to cover gay and transgender people. Mainline Christians (a category that includes, among other denominations, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians) and Catholics were more supportive than Evangelical Christians, and Mainline Christians were often among the more supportive segments on a variety of issues.
“The visibility of the past several years, and the intense conversations of the past few weeks, seem to have galvanized a majority of Americans’ support of equality for gay and transgender Americans,” said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano.
“While this expression of support is encouraging, particularly after the setbacks we experienced on Election Day, it’s not something we can rest on. There is a lot of work to be done.
Stevedmd2, there are no Christian Taliban. Taliban are Islamic Fundamentalists.
The polls had rejection of prop8 ahead until the christian taliban got going. Sure there is some lying / embarassment about saying they want to eliminate marriage, but this sort of situation is actually an opportunity, if you think about it – these people are moveable if he right things are done.
Many People are sheep re religion. Doesn’t 9/11 prove that as well.
Precisely the issue – get the churches out of legal issues. The whole problem is marriage has both legal and religious meanings. And when you talk to religious people, in general, they are thinking totally differently – not at all on the same wavelength – as you are re legal equality.
Of course the conservative churches would freak out – cuz they would lose influence over laws. But that is precisely what we need. Look at the state of affairs in Afghanistan, pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc – other countries where religion is mixed into govt.
I find this interesting coming from a group of people who pretty easily passed amendments in most states banning “anything that would grant rights similar to marriage to gay people,” which includes civil unions.
I swear, American voters don’t know what they’re doing half the time.
I think that At least Civil Unions should be allowed..Im not against gay marriage either although my main concern is for people who have been together forever and cant even help and or make decisions for loved ones who may be dying,etc and are not allowed to express what their Partner wants/wanted.That is my main concern! After all People are PEOPLE BOTTOM LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A correction: While a majority of the states banning recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages also ban recognizing them using other terms (domestic partnership, civil union), those states (19 out of 50) remain a minority in the greater whole.
But I otherwise agree – where did they take this poll? Certainly not in Michigan, which bans any form of recognition for same-sex couples and likewise does not have legal protection against discrimination on the basis of orientation.
Where was this poll conducted MA and CT? If this were really true we would not have the vast majority of states banning gay marriage and civil unions between same sex couples.
I do however agree that there is a lot of work to do!
I have to agree with John. Either a lot of people lie to those conducting polls, or those who conduct polls are careful about who they ask the questions.
If this poll reflected the truth, it wouldn’t have been possible to have lost so much and gained so little over the last couple of years.
The upside? Perhaps, maybe, hopefully our community will learn to ignore the polls completely. Maybe we will learn to press on regardless of what any poll says. We can relax when, and only when, we actually gain our equality. Until then, polls be damned.
Can we please have a poll asking Americans how often they lie to pollsters?
Because everytime we have a survey on gay rights, everyone says they’re in favor of it. “No on 8″ was supposedly leading by 17 percentage points over the summer. But then when it comes time to vote, they check off “yes” on every anti-gay ballot initiative they can find. To say nothing of the homophobic candidates they elect in massive numbers every election season. Americans are liars and hypocrites.
If Civil Unions are acceptable lets have it for everyone, let churchs perform Marriages. Let Civil Unions be the institution to determine Federal State and Local rights and benefits. Let the Church preform mariage as it choses.
I support civil unions and domestic partnerships for black couples, they should be able to have all the rights that married white couples have, just as long as it’s not called marriage.
just remember,civil unions and domestic partnerships are still second to marriage-unless all citizens ok it for everyone.ask the str8s if civil union and domestic partnerships are ok with them and i ll bet ya they will scream-”no way ” !!So let us not settle for second best -we want what they want -marriage ! dont give up !!