May 31, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe marriages between same-sex couples should not have the same rights as traditional marriages, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 53 per cent of respondents oppose the legal recognition of these unions.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States believe marriages between same-sex couples should not have the same rights as traditional marriages, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 53 per cent of respondents oppose the legal recognition of these unions.

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, California and New Jersey grant same-sex couples 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 the District of Columbia, Hawaii and Maine. 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 and South Africa, and at least 18 countries offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex unions.

Earlier this month, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is seeking the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008, expressed his views on same-sex relations, declaring, "I oppose discrimination against gay people. I am not anti-gay. I know there are some Republicans, or some people in the country who are looking for someone who is anti-gay and that's not me." 59 per cent of respondents think homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal.

Polling Data

Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?

	May 2007	May 2006
Should be valid	46%	42%
Should not be valid	53%	56%
No opinion	1%	4%

Do you think homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal?

	May 2007	May 2006
Yes	59%	56%
No	37%	40%
No opinion	4%	4%

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 American adults, conducted from May 10 to May 13, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.