Poll: Majority In Calif. Back Gay Marriage

41 Percent Oppose Same-Sex Marriage In Poll Taken After State Supreme Court Ruling

(AP)  More California voters now support allowing same-sex marriage than oppose it, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The results mark the first time in over three decades of polling that more California voters have approved of extending marriage to gay couples than have disapproved, said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo. The survey of 1,052 registered voters was conducted over the phone.

“I would say this is a historic turning point or milestone,” DiCamillo said. “We have speculated in the past there would be some time in the future when a majority would support same-sex marriage. Well, the lines have crossed.”

The poll found that 51 percent of respondents backed legalizing same-sex marriage and 42 percent opposed it, DiCamillo said.

In 2006, when participants were asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of California allowing homosexuals to marry members of their own sex?” 44 percent said they approved and 50 percent objected. In 1977, the first year Field posted the question to voters, 28 percent approved and 59 percent were opposed.

The poll was conducted from May 17 to May 26 in the days after the California Supreme Court handed down its historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the nation's most populous state. A smaller percentage of respondants- 48 percent - said they agreed with the court's decision and 46 percent disagreed.

DiCamillo said the jump in support for same-sex marriage indicates that voters were “influenced in some way by the judgment of the high court.”

“I am left to surmise that had some impact on voters who might have been on the fence or marginally opposed,” he said.

Voters were similarly divided on the subject of a proposed ballot initiative that would overturn the court's ruling by putting a gay marriage ban in the state constitution. Field asked respondents about it two ways - once referencing the specific measure a group is seeking to get on the November ballot and once talking about a marriage amendment more generally.

Fifty-four percent opposed the amendment when presented with the issue generally, a figure that dropped to 51 percent when respondents were told they might have the chance to vote on a specific measure in November. Support for the amendment stood at 40 percent and 43 percent.

DiCamillo said the numbers could change once the amendment qualifies for the ballot, but the early results indicate “the concept itself is not widely embraced.”

The Field Poll's finding conflicts with a Los Angeles Times/KTLA poll of 705 voters released last week that found 54 percent backed the proposed gay marriage ban and 35 percent opposed it. The Field survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points on the general amendment question, and plus or minus five percentage points on the more specific question.

Andrew Pugno, legal adviser for the coalition of religious and social conservative groups sponsoring the measure, said the Times poll is more consistent with his group's internal polling.

“We could acknowledge there has been increasing acceptance of the idea of gay relationships over the last 10 or 20 years, but we think when it comes to marriage there is still a solid majority who want to see it reserved for a man and a woman, and that is all this initiative is about,” Pugno said.

[remco82]

These truly are THE LAST DAYS!

[jjp735i]

We''''ll see how the U.S. supreme court feels about it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted by thcarson at 07:56

The U.S. Supreme Court has no say in the matter.

[usbrit-2009]

We''''ll see how the U.S. supreme court feels about it.

Posted by thcarson

Oh, give it a break. First it was "activist judges subverting the will of the people." Last week it was "wait until we pass the constitutional ban" now it looks like that won''t work, so now it''s "wait until the Supreme Court rules" or our "activist judges subverting the will of the people" is just fine. Typical hypocrisy of the right.

[thcarson-2009]

Great, but not surprising news. There''''s not much enthusiasm here in California for telling other people how they have to live their lives. The anti-gay marriage amendment has virtually no political support and it''''s support statewide is shrinking. It''''s here to stay in California.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by SgtRDS-E4

We''ll see how the U.S. supreme court feels about it.

[joe1022joe]

The legal logic for polygamous marriage is the same as that for homosexual marriage. If homosexual marriage is legalized, polygamous marriage won''t be far behind.

[sgtrds-e4]

Gay marriage has absolutely no effect whatsoever on those that oppose beyond the fact that they just don''t like it or their book of fairy tales tells them it''s a bad thing. No one is going to force them to marry a gay person or allow gay weddings in their church, but still the sanctimonious and self-righteous still think they have the right to tell other people to live by their rules simply because they want them to. They don''t. Too bad.

Don''t like gay marriage? Then don''t marry a gay person! Other then that it''s none of your effing business!!

[sgtrds-e4]

Great, but not surprising news. There''s not much enthusiasm here in California for telling other people how they have to live their lives. The anti-gay marriage amendment has virtually no political support and it''s support statewide is shrinking. It''s here to stay in California.

[jack3213]

There is nothing wrong in choosing with whom you want to have a realtionship with, but there is something wrong with challenging the constitution that has stood by this country for 2 centuries. If Mass & CA want to have "gay" marriage" may they be happy- but there should be a limit to how far one feels about adjusting the laws and what it means to be ''man'' and ''woman'' in this world. For many years, alot of the *** I have met think of the word "committment" in a very differant way. Alot do not stay together. Alot have stretched the meaning of "marrriage" for financial reasons. Bless them for trying to make it work, but I have seen many struggle an uphill battle- more so than hetersexual people- for what it means when a lifetime is defined in what is known as "marriage"

[kansas1946]

Good for California. At least there are a few states where gay families will have some protection.