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Loading ...Poll: Support For Anti-Gay Calif. Amendment Widens
10.21.2008 4:15pm EDT
(San Francisco, California) A new poll, taken for a Catholic group opposed to same-sex marriage, shows that support is widening for a proposed amendment to ban gay unions in California.
The survey, conducted by Marist College Institute of Public Opinion, found the proposed amendment now has a 9 percentage point lead among likely voters — 52 percent to 43 percent.The poll was taken between September 28 and October 5 for the Knights of Columbus, which has helped raise millions of dollars to promote the proposed amendment.
The sample included 1,008 likely voters in California, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The survey shows that support for the amendment, known as Proposition 8, leads in every region of California except the Bay Area, where 58% are opposed.
Statewide it has 53 percent support among men and 51 percent among women. Among whites, 51 percent said they supported the amendment while 57 percent of Latinos support it.
Among voters over the age of 45, Prop 8 has the support of 59 percent of those polled.
The highest level of opposition — 54 percent — came from people under the age of 45, and 54 percent of those who said they were unmarried.
A SurveyUSA poll taken earlier this month for four TV stations across the state found that 47 percent of likely voters would support the measure with 42 percent opposing it.
Monday more than a dozen pastors who support same-sex marriage stood on the steps of San Francisco city hall to voice their opposition to the amendment.
They also announced that more than 2,200 faith leaders from across the country have signed an open letter to religious leaders calling for the recognition of same-sex marriage.
LGBT groups have been struggling to match the millions of dollars raised by supporters of the amendment for television ads in the two weeks leading up to the election.
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has spent $100,000 of her own money to buy television airtime to urge Californians to vote against the proposed amendment. DeGeneres married her long time partner, actress Portia de Rossi, in August.
In 2004 Newsom began allowing marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples in San Francisco. The state took the mayor to court, arguing he had overstepped his authority, and the California Supreme Court agreed. As a result, the more than 8,000 marriages that had been performed were declared void.
The ruling, however, did not directly address the issue of the constitutionality of the state ban on same-sex marriage, and LGBT civil rights activists began a separate court action challenging the prohibition.
In May the court court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to wed violated the California constitution.
Conservative groups began collecting enough signatures for the ballot measure. Recent polling suggests voters are closely divided over the amendment.
This demonstrates the extreme folly of subjecting minority rights to a popular vote. I spent 6 months in the south in military service during segregation. If there had been a vote on integration, it never would have happened. It seems minority rights are never popular but bigotry wins elections! I wish blacks and Hispanics would realize this—THEIR RIGHTS COULD BE VOTED ON NEXT!!!!!
I’m not gonna fault 365gay on their headline here. I think we need a little scare in us to make sure we don’t sit idly by and let the fundies strip us of our humanity.
please help us boycott Eduardo VErastegui for his add for yes to prep 8 . Boycott his movie bella and everything about this mexican guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdpTjEgzpYk
I haven’t seen any ads yet on any medium discussing why people should vote No on Prop 8 unless I LOOK for them myself on the internet. I have however seen 3-4 Yes Prop 8 ads on tv (the one that says if gay marriage is allowed it will be taught in school and shows a little girl saying she can marry a princess because of a book in school about two princes marrying to her mom) and heard a couple on the radio (the same gay marriage taught in school malarky if Prop 8 passes) including on a rock music station while I was working out in the gym.
What is the pro Prop 8 campaign doing?!
They should be showing that gay marriage is about real people and how it hurts them if not allowed and showing how the pro Prop 8 ads are using scare tactics and manipulating people based on misleading ads. And target the ads at the proper groups, not preaching to the choir..
What are they doing? Where are they?
Morgan, the wife and I have donated $1500.00 of my hard earned money.
Todd,
I agree with you there. This “No on 8″ campaign is being run by Patrick Guerriero (who was head of the Log Cabin Republicans). Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have the stomach in him to put up much of a fight. Apparently, his brilliant plan is to do absolutely nothing. Maybe he hopes these attacks will make homosexuals look so pathetic that straights will vote for same-sex marriage out of pity. Sounds like a winning plan to me. That is, if I were working for the religious right.
And seriously, if this is what 22 million dollars buys, maybe Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, and Ellen should ask for their money back. The “No on 8″ campaign keeps on whining about how they’re being grossly outspent. But the gap is actually only 22 million to 26 million. Which, when you think about it, is not that huge a difference. So, it is simply baffling that there are 10 anti-gay advertisements on the airwaves versus none for the pro-gay side.
What are they doing with the money? Spending it on pornography? Secretly sending it to Sarah Palin? I mean, this is simply atrocious mismanagement on their part. When the election is over, I’d like to see an independent audit of this “No on 8″ campaign for embezzlement. It simply doesn’t make sense. And as Judge Judy says, when it doesn’t make sense…
Once again, America proves it is hopeless. The proposition will pass, and, you know what? I wouldn’t at all be surprised if McCain wins over Obama, as voters use their guts rather than their brains once they’re behind that curtain. You have a smattering of decent, civilized people living on the coasts, and a majority of racist losers who inevitably end up running the country. I feel sorry for anyone gay who has to live in that backward country as a second-class citizen.
Everyone who donated monmey should be asking themselves why in the hell a Republican, member of a party that has a platform of hatred and intolerance for gay people, would be put in charge of such an important ad campaign. Kinda like giving the Klan money to fight racism. I think those that have donated have just been suckered. Those dollars would have served a better purpose buying drinks at a bar. Also just a reminder, your vote has nothing to do with who becomes president….
Will existing marriages be converted to domestic partnerships when Proposition 8 passes or will they just be invalidated?
Where’s Obama? Where is all of this leadership and concern for gay rights issues he said he had during the Primary? Obama’s camp droned on and on about how Obama was SOOOOOO right on all the gay issues?!!! But the Messiah doesn’t want to even lift his little finger to help gay marriage equality. And the LGBT leadership and the so called Gay press happily sang his praises as Obama betrayed us and led “Faith Tours” with anti-gay marriage Yes on Prop 8 advocates. Pathetic.
Obama will not stick his neck out for Prop 8. Why should he? He risks alienated voters he needs to win. He’s got the gay vote whether he helps on 8 or not. We aren’t going to go to the Republicans and he knows it. Since we aren’t going anywhere, we have to accept what every morsels he throws us. I guess that’s the problem with having all of our eggs in one basket.
Obama will not stick his neck out for Prop 8. Why should he? He risks alienating voters he needs to win. He’s got the gay vote whether he helps on 8 or not. We aren’t going to go to the Republicans and he knows it. Since we aren’t going anywhere, we have to accept what every morsels he throws us. I guess that’s the problem with having all of our eggs in one basket.
Wayne wants us to vote for McCain or vote for noone. He is making a lot of “noise” but no useful recommendations of any kind, so I will assume this is what Wayne is suggesting upon trying to “read between the lines” of his speech.
WAyne has posted in this vehement style each and every time. Hope all this stress Obama is causing him doesn’t lead to a stroke or a heart attack for him.
At the risk of further upsetting our friend Wayne…
As we saw with Bill Clinton, a premature and ill-advised delving into the “hot-button” issues of our “controversial” community (SUCH AS GAYS IN THE MILITARY) at a time when his presidency was “too new” and hardly 6 months old, unfortunately “set a tone” not conducive to getting the broader part of the “people’s aganda” accomplished during his administraton. All he got him was a ridiculous amonunt of lack of cooperation on a bipartisan level on issues of imporatance to 95$ of Americans.
He “painted” himself red” so to speak by taking on far too early the issues that would really only benefit 5% of the American populatino.
Let’s see GLBT population at 5% is roughly 17 and 1/2 million people out of 350 million if thet is the current size of the population of USA residents. Enough to comfortably (without too much overcrowding) populate a state 3 times the size of Maryland which has about 5 to 6 million now.
GLBT population is mostly packed into most all of the major US cities coast to coast primarily in the coastal states and spread somewhat thinly in between those major US cities.
so we are still a MINORITY and an often not very well liked one at that. A lot of Congresspeople and their constituents do not favor us.
So Obama is smart and well-advised to ignore the impatient hullabaloo demanding that he attend to gay issues right away or ASAP. He is smart to get his firt 100 days in office well established on the issues that 95% of the USA care most about and look after our 5% minority after his first year has gone by.
Sorry, Wayne, but the facts of the matter are to for him to do as you scream and demand he do “right this second”. Will be political suicide for him.
Wayne at this time the stark reality is either 4 more years of misrule in the style of Bush, Cheney and Rove.
Do you seriously want that Palin woman in the white House hatching plans with McCain for a US constitution gay marriage ban?
We are not as likely see one of those under Obama ? Biden but you can bet your last dollar we will see one being pushed under McBush and Palin.
Now is the time for all actors, singers, musicians, celebrities to COME OUT of their closets and stand together with each other and the already out celebrities, and separately to publicly denounce Proposition 8. No matter what race or ethnicity they may be, no matter what excuses they have, their careers won’t crumble. They need to say to the people of California “If you vote for Proposition 8, you are voting against me.” Politicians carry a lot of weight, but in the USA in 2008, the people who exert the greatest influence, for better or worse, are those celebrated in the public eye. Well, it is time they stood up and stood out for this cause, and giving money anonymously isn’t enough. This is really frightening. The results of Proposition 8 are going to impact the rest of the country. I’m from NY. I contributed as much money as I could. Because I know I will ultimately feel the effects of this issue. So I challenge ALL LGBT public figures to do the right thing. If ever there was a right time, it is now.
No Morgon,
What I want is for gay people to wake up and see the sad truth before them.