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Many in New Hampshire Reject Same-Sex Marriage
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in New Hampshire believe the unions of gay and lesbian partners should not be equated to wedlock, according to a poll by Research 2000 published in the Concord Monitor. 58 per cent of respondents in the Granite State support changing their constitution to define marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.
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.
Last month, a special panel of lawmakers recommended that New Hampshire's same-sex couples be allowed a minimum of the benefits available to married heterosexual couples, but no legal status. Their final document says same-sex marriage "has never been considered either a fundamental right or an essential element of society's fabric so as to constitute an essential liberty in New Hampshire history."
Over the past two years, 18 American states have enacted amendments to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose changing New Hampshire's constitution to define marriage as a union only between a man and a woman?
Support | 58% |
Oppose | 31% |
Not sure | 11% |
Source: Research 2000 / The Concord Monitor
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 likely New Hampshire voters, conducted from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22, 2005. Margin of error is 4 per cent.