(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States are almost evenly divided on whether same-sex marriage should be allowed in their country, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 43 per cent of respondents favour allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 46 per cent are opposed.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States are almost evenly divided on whether same-sex marriage should be allowed in their country, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 43 per cent of respondents favour allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 46 per cent are opposed.
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. Same-sex marriage is also legal in Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont, and will become legal next year in New Hampshire.
In May 2008, California’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage in a 4-3 decision, effectively allowing full marriage rights to homosexual partners. In November 2008, 52.5 per cent of voters in California endorsed Proposition 8, which seeks to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Civil union and domestic partnership laws in California, the District of Columbia, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington, grant same-sex couples nearly all state-level rights and obligations of marriage—in areas such as inheritance, income tax, insurance and hospital visitation. Other forms of domestic partnership exist in Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland and Wisconsin. There are more than 1,000 federal-level rights of marriage that cannot be granted by states.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway and Sweden. At least 20 countries offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex unions.
Earlier this month, Portugal’s government presented a proposal that seeks to legalize same-sex marriage in the European country. Pedro Corte-Real, head of the Portuguese delegation of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) expressed satisfaction, adding, "We have been fighting for this for years."
Polling Data
Do you favour or oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally?
|
Favour |
43% |
|
Oppose |
46% |
|
Not sure |
10% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,001 American adults, conducted on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
