Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Polls show shift in attitude toward gays
01.22.2009 3:33pm EST
(Washington) New polls taken in two of the country’s most socially conservative states indicate a shift in attitudes toward LGBT people.
A Florida poll shows a majority of prospective voters in that state believe the state’s ban on gay adoption should be repealed and that there should be legal recognition of same-sex relationships, though they disagreed on whether that should be marriage or civil unions.The other poll, in Utah, found that a majority support LGBT civil rights.
Both states in recent years have seen a large influx of new residents, primarily from the Northeast and California.
In Florida, the poll by Quinnipiac University found that 55 percent favor abolishing the state law that prohibits gays from adopting, while 39 percent said the law should be maintained.
When it came to same-sex relationships, 62 percent favor some sort of recognition, with 27 percent supporting marriage and 35 percent favoring civil unions. Only 31 percent said there should be no legal recognition of gay unions.
Democrats and independent voters were most gay-supportive while Republicans and white evangelical Christians were most negative.
Florida voters in November amended the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. A legal challenge to the state ban on gays adopting children is expected to be heard by the Florida Supreme Court later this year.
In Utah, a poll commissioned by Equality Utah found that 63 percent support gay legal protections including some rights for same-sex couples.
Utah bans same-sex marriage. Bills to bar discrimination against gays in employment and housing and to provide for domestic partnerships and guarantee partner hospital visitation rights are expected to be considered this year by the legislature.
The survey found that 62 percent believe it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay and 57 percent said it should be illegal to deny housing to someone for being gay.
On the issue of partner rights, 73 percent said they would support health insurance coverage for a partner or other designated adult for state employees. Utahans, however, are not ready for same-sex marriage. Only 20 percent said they supported gay marriage.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the poll was the fact 66 percent of those surveyed identified their religious belief as Mormon. Equality Utah, however, did not provide a breakdown of how LDS respondents answered individual questions in its survey.
If it was a federal civil union bill that granted gays all the legal rights of marriage, but separated it from the (to many people) religious sphere, I think this would pass quite easily, except for a possible senate filibuster.
And done right it would make the homophobic hate churches look unkind, uncaring, unfair if they opened their rotten mouths.
A big big step forward.
Most Catholics i know, except the hook line and sinker (stinker) types, think that “gays should have the same rights as str8 people, but please don’t call it marriage.”
And you can bet there are prob a large number of priests who would support this sort of bill, except they are in their own closet – terrorized at losing their job and their life’s work if they don’t follow the dictates of their German leader who grew up there in the 1930s.
And remember, despite the issues, eg Warren, there is a new day in this country, where people have decided they will not live under the neo-nazis who run the republican party, whose moral values include praying to their gods of Greed and hatreds.
Or, equally likely, they feel free to vent their opinion to a pollster, but they don’t show up to vote. As we saw in CA for prop 8, sometimes it comes down to who can better mobilize their people to come out to the polls.
“Tiiiiiiiiime…is on our side…YES IT IS!”
As usual, Americans lie through the teeth when it comes to gays. They want everyone to believe they’re open minded and liberal. But when push comes to shove, they’ll vote for homophobic lawmakers and initiatives like they always do. What else is new?
62% of Floridans voted to ban any recognition of same-sex relationships in November. And now, less than three months later, the same number of them are suddenly for civil unions?
Yeah, that’s some ole BS right there. They’re obviously LYING to the pollsters.
R. W. Sapp: I think you make an EXCELLENT point. The last thing in the world my partner and I want is a religious ceremony. However, the religious like to pretend that civil marriage is somehow currently non-existent. “Civil marriage” is indeed what should be stressed, and I thank you for bringing it up! Churches that wish to marry gay couples should do so and those marriages should be equally recognized.
I feel there should be new wording. It should not be labelled “Gay Marriage” but “Civil Marriage” & what we now call marriage should be referred to as “Sacremental Marriage”. The reason is the church should Not be requiewd to besto the sacrement of marriage on anyone by the state. We argue for seperation of church & state and this would meet that requirement. Europe has been doing this for years. That is why gays were allowed to marry so easily in many countries.
I wonder if this would not make things clearer & easy the fundamentalists argueent against “gay marriage”. What are some other opinions of the GLBT community?
Well good for FL.. but please don’t forget how my partner, our jointly adopted children and I were kept from Lisa’s side as she lay dying at Jackson Memorial Hospital Hospital in Miami – in February 18, 2007.
follow our case on Lambda Legal http://www.Lambdalegal.org or our blog
http://www.theLPkids.com
RJLigier Said:”…how neurotic LGBT professionals interpret neuroses and immutable characteristics without replicable, empirical data…”
The science of Gay/Lesbian genetic and biological differentiation from Heterosexuals is real. The differences tremendous. That you choose to ignore every and all findings by the scientific community is your own problem. That you continue to LIE about it to yourself explains it all;
You are a moron.
I don’t like to here that people are trying to pin us against each other. Take your hatred somewhere else, where it will work. There are far too many problems out their for us gay folk. I hate it when someone gets on here and tries to start trouble. It’s just a pile of horse s**t. Grow up people!! If you aren’t happy in your life, don’t bring it on here. There are people with open minds, to think for themselves without hearing your crap.
Here Here, Morgan!
RJLigier, check the front page of today’s Washington Post (January 22, 2009 or check today’s Washington Post online as I have. That is explained in plain English the reasons for what you speak of. Since you are able to communicate to people here in very good English, I am sure you are mentally capable of reading this article that spells out all the technical difficulties the Bush White House bestowed on the Obama White House with the Bush team’s technically outdated and outmoded software, computers, disconnected phone lines, and much more.
Obama’s people are sharp and technically savvy and finding a lot of stuff left behind by the Bush people in need of technical updating and replacing, etc. From what I have read, Obama has been moving with speed on a number of things already and his people are working to get things up to speed and are already engaged in confronting and reversing the damaging regulations and policies the Bush administration pumped out in likely hopes of hobbling and wasting the time of the new administration. Obama has already phone several key leaders of the Middle East, he is already confronting Gitmo etc. He is moving full speed ahead. He still has to get his cabinet all in place. Hillary Clinton has been confirmed as Secretary of State and she is interested in improving and making more equal the rules and regulations that gay US foreign service personel and their same-sex partners have to contend with.
Obama and his staff are on their 1st full day in the White House and those of us who read avidly are far too aware of what is going on to let you sow division amongst us with your nonsense and rubbish in this regard.
We are not sure why you are here, son, unless you have some kind gay denial problem that has warped you.
But at the same time, most of us are savvy enough to understand that your game is to create division amongst us, so run along. We’ve gotten you figured out.
I can not believe some of these polls. Florida just voted 62% to change their constitution to not recognize any form of same-sex/gay relationship. And this pole is stating that “62%” believe in some sort of recognition?????
Where were these people during the election
The pole is BS
The article only cites recent polls, so it doesn’t really tell whether there’s been a shift from earlier polls.
If there is a shift in attitude, one would expect to see a shift in voting and at least a shift in editorializing. I’m glad someone is seeing it; I’m not.
BS, just like the propaganda that Obama has left the LGBT community out in the cold. Check the “civil rights” section of the White House website, yet? Still waiting to determine how neurotic LGBT professionals interpret neuroses and immutable characteristics without replicable, empirical data.