November 05, 2006

Abstract: - More adults in the United States believe gay and lesbian partnerships should be officially acknowledged, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 28 per cent of respondents support same-sex marriage, while 29 per cent favour the concept of civil unions.

- More adults in the United States believe gay and lesbian partnerships should be officially acknowledged, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 28 per cent of respondents support same-sex marriage, while 29 per cent favour the concept of civil unions.

Conversely, 38 per cent of respondents are against any legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples.

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 union and domestic partnership laws in Vermont, Connecticut and California grant same-sex couples all state-level rights and obligations of marriage—in areas such as inheritance, income tax, insurance and hospital visitation. There are more than 1,000 federal-level rights of marriage that cannot be granted by states.

On Jun. 7, a proposal to enact a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage failed in the Senate after a 49-48 vote. On Jul. 18, a House of Representatives effort to constitutionally prohibit any form of marriage other than one "between a man and a woman" fell 46 votes short of the 289 required to pass.

Over the past two years, 19 American states have enacted amendments to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Seven more will hold votes on the matter on Nov. 7.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Senate president Robert E. Travaglini announced his intention to proceed with a Constitutional Convention that would ponder whether to enact a ballot initiative aimed at banning same-sex marriage in the Bay State in 2008. Travaglani explained his rationale, saying, "We have the shared responsibility to debate and seek final resolution of all the items remaining on the calendar."

Polling Data

Which comes closest to your view? Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry; gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry; or there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship?

	Oct. 2006	Feb. 2005
Marry	28%	23%
Civil unions	29%	34%
No legal recognition	38%	41%
Not sure	5%	2%

Source: The New York Times / CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,084 American adults, conducted from Oct. 27 to Oct. 31, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.