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Loading ...Poll: Most in Connecticut support gay marriage ruling
10.14.2008 4:53pm EDT
(Hartford, Connecticut) A new poll has found that a majority of prospective Connecticut voters support the state Supreme Court ruling that struck down a ban on same-sex marriage.
Fifty-three percent said they agreed with the ruling while 42 percent disagreed.The poll of 502 likely voters was conducted by the University of Connecticut poll for the Hartford Courant newspaper.
Support was highest among Democrats with 72 percent approving of the ruling. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans disapproved. Among independents support stood at 52 percent. The poll had a 4.4 percent margin of error.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions through the courts.
“Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice,” Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote in the ruling.
The decision has infuriated social conservatives who have called for a constitutional convention.
Every 20 years, voters can force a convention during which delegates can rewrite the entire constitution. It’s a long, painstaking process that could cost millions and, by coincidence, it’s on the ballot this November.
“This is our one opportunity for the people to have a voice, for the people to be heard, for them to decide whether marriage will be protected as between a man and a woman,” said Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut.
Having been a resident of Southern CT for the last 30 years, I can state without question that this is the single most important ruling of my adulthood. In seeking to eradicate the inconsistancies of the civil unions law, (which WAS a good first step), the Supreme Court has bucked a pretty conservative Democrat state, and done what was right. I applaud them and will urge other CT voters to vote NO on 1, the Referendum vote. It’s not specifically about gay marriage, just about whether or not we can ask ANY question. If we vote NO, the issue dies before it can gain any traction.
Don’t set much store by this result. In September, things looked good for defeating the homophobic Prop. 8 (a.k.a, “Prop Hate”), but after millions of dollars poured into the CA by the Roman Catholic Church and the Mormon Church, along with the other usual RW suspects, things don’t look so good for the CA Supreme Court opinion. Ultimately, this issue must be resolved at the ballot box and that will take money and political skills plus a 110% commitment by the glbt community.
RE the article…you GO, Connecticut!
RE California, the short time frame is making the job harder. In Massachusetts, the support for gay marriage grew every year after it became law. If, in CA, a year or more had passed between the time the law went into effect and the time people would vote on it, it would be been easier to defeat. And every year after that would have made it easier. With less than a year between the marriages and the vote, our opponents can still paint it as “scary/dangerous,” and there isn’t enough real-world experience yet to counter that conjured argument.
(BTW, I just gave another donation this week to try to help CA a bit….)