(Angus Reid Global Scan) – More adults in the United States believe the concept of wedlock should not incorporate gay and lesbian couples, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 68 per cent of respondents say marriages between homosexuals should not be recognized as valid, a nine per cent increase in a year.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – More adults in the United States believe the concept of wedlock should not incorporate gay and lesbian couples, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 68 per cent of respondents say marriages between homosexuals should not be recognized as valid, a nine per cent increase in a year.
During the January 2004 State of the Union address, U.S. 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. Last May, the state of Massachusetts allowed gay and lesbian partners to apply for marriage licenses, the first state-sanctioned homosexual weddings in the U.S.
Different ideas on how to provide legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples continue to split views in the U.S. 20 per cent of respondents say same-sex partners should be allowed to legally marry.
Civil unions—currently available only in the state of Vermont—give same-sex partners the same legal rights of married couples such as inheritance, insurance and hospital visiting privileges. 27 per cent of respondents support this concept, while 45 per cent say there should be no legal recognition for gay and lesbian relationships.
A California law grants domestic partners the same legal rights of married couples, with the exception of filing joint income tax returns.
Polling Data
Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?
Mar. 2005 | Feb. 2004 | |
Should be recognized as valid | 28% | 36% |
Should not be recognized as valid | 68% | 59% |
Which of the following arrangements between gay or lesbian couples do you think should be recognized as legally valid—same-sex marriages, civil unions, but not same-sex marriages, or neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions?
Mar. 2005 | Nov. 2004 | |
Same-sex marriages | 20% | 21% |
Civil unions | 27% | 32% |
Neither | 45% | 43% |
Source: Gallup / CNN / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 443 American adults (First Question) and 466 American adults (Second Question), conducted from Mar. 18 to Mar. 20, 2005. Margin of error is 4 per cent.
