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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
New Hampshire Rejects Same-Sex Marriage
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in New Hampshire believe gay and lesbian couples should be barred from entering wedlock, according to a poll by Research 2000 published in the Concord Monitor. 55 per cent of respondents in the Granite State oppose same-sex marriage.
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. 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. 44 per cent of respondents in New Hampshire support the concept of civil unions for same-sex partners, while 40 per cent oppose it.
In October, New Jersey's Supreme Court ordered the state legislature to grant the same rights and benefits of heterosexual couples to homosexual partnerships, but stopped short of defining these unions as marriages.
New Hampshire's lawmakers are expected to consider legislation related to the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples next year. A bill introduced by Democratic state representative James Splaine seeks to allow homosexual partners to enter "domestic unions" that would grant the same rights of married couples.
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose same-sex marriage?
Support | 35% |
Oppose | 55% |
Not sure | 10% |
Do you support or oppose allowing same-sex partners to enter civil unions?
Support | 44% |
Oppose | 40% |
Not sure | 16% |
Source: Research 2000 / The Concord Monitor
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 600 likely New Hampshire voters, conducted from Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.