July 17, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A majority of adults in the United States reject same-sex marriage, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 52 per cent of respondents oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, while 40 per cent are in favour.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A majority of adults in the United States reject same-sex marriage, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 52 per cent of respondents oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, while 40 per cent are in favour.

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. 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.

Civil union and domestic partnership laws in Vermont, Connecticut 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, Maine, New Hampshire and Washington State. 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. Norway will allow homosexual couples to get married in 2009. At least 18 countries offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex unions.

On Jul. 15, the Massachusetts Senate voted to repeal a 1913 law—which was aimed at banning interracial marriages—that had been recently used to forbid out-of-state homosexual couples from marrying in Massachusetts. Democratic state senator Dianne Wilkerson declared: "This is one of the most pernicious statutes on our books. In some respects this bill puts the final nail in the coffin of those dark days."

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is expected to vote on the issue later this month.

Polling Data

Do you favour or oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally?

	Jun. 2008	May 2008	Nov. 2007
Favour	40%	38%	36%
Oppose	52%	49%	54%
Not sure	8%	13%	10%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,004 American adults, conducted from Jun. 18 to Jun. 29, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.