(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the Natural State reject the concepts of same-sex marriage and civil unions, according to a poll by the Survey Research Center at the University of Arkansas. 54 per cent of respondents believe there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the Natural State reject the concepts of same-sex marriage and civil unions, according to a poll by the Survey Research Center at the University of Arkansas. 54 per cent of respondents believe there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship.
During the January 2004 State of the Union address, United States president George W. Bush said, “Activist judges (…) have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives.”
In 2004, marriage certificates were issued to same-sex couples by local governments in the states of California, Oregon, New Mexico and New York. In May 2004, the state of Massachusetts allowed gay and lesbian partners to apply for marriage licenses, the first state-sanctioned homosexual weddings in the U.S.
Civil unions—currently available in the states of Vermont and Connecticut—give same-sex partners the same legal rights of married couples such as inheritance, insurance and hospital visiting privileges. A California law grants domestic partners the same legal rights of married couples, with the exception of filing joint income tax returns.
Over the past two years, 18 American states—including Arkansas—have enacted amendments to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
Polling Data
Which of the following policy positions most closely resembles your own view regarding relationships between two people of the same sex?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry | 15% |
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions | 22% |
There should be no legal recognition | 54% |
Don’t know / Refused | 9% |
Source: Survey Research Center at the University of Arkansas
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 766 Arkansas adults, conducted from Oct. 8 to Oct. 17, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
