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发帖数: 19713 | 1 A new Gallup poll finds that half of Americans believe same-sex marriages
should be legally recognized, the second time a majority has supported the
issue in a Gallup poll.
CNN reports on the poll, which found that 50% of respondents said same-sex
marriages should be recognized as legal, while 48% said the unions should
not be legal. This compares with last year’s Gallup poll that found 53% of
Americans in support, the first time that a majority favored the issue since
polling began in 1996. The slight drop in support this year is not
statistically significant, according to Gallup, although it is notably not
an increase, either.
Like other recent national polls that show slight majorities favoring same-
sex marriage, the latest poll found sharp partisan divides. Two-thirds of
Democrats surveyed support same-sex marriage, followed by 57% of
independents, and 22% of Republicans. Religious adherence also appears to
play a role in respondents’ views.
“According to the Gallup poll, there's also a divide along religious lines,
with Catholics, by a 51%-47% margin, in support of legal same sex marriages
but Protestants, by a 59%-38% margin, opposed,” reported CNN. “The survey
also indicates that the more frequently a person attends religious services
, the less likely that person is to support legalizing same sex marriages.”
The new poll results arrive during a week of significant developments on
marriage equality nationwide. North Carolina voters will decide Tuesday on a
constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions
. Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced
their support for marriage equality, bringing to three the number of Obama
cabinet members who have publicly declared a more “evolved” position than
the president. Advocates continue to ramp up the pressure on President Obama
, with Caroline Kennedy becoming the latest prominent Democrat to join push
for a marriage equality plank at the Democratic National Convention in
September.
According to Gallup, the poll results help to explain the ambiguous stance
of President Obama in this election year.
“This year's results underscore just how divided the nation is on this
issue,” the polling company said in its news release. “As a result,
President Obama's campaign strategy team obviously is continuing to grapple
with how to handle it -- with the vice president on the one hand essentially
endorsing legalized gay marriage, while the administration on the other
hand stops just short of the same pronouncement. Obama's core constituency
of Democrats strongly supports the issue, as do the majority of the
important election group of independents. The president has said his view on
the issue is ‘evolving,’ so it is possible he will eventually go on
record as supporting gay marriage, but for now, he officially remains
opposed.” |
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