October 28, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - American adults remain divided on finding a way to acknowledge gay and lesbian partnerships, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 30 per cent of respondents would allow same-sex couples to legally marry, 26 per cent would allow them to form civil unions, and 38 per cent would grant no legal recognition to these partnerships.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - American adults remain divided on finding a way to acknowledge gay and lesbian partnerships, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 30 per cent of respondents would allow same-sex couples to legally marry, 26 per cent would allow them to form civil unions, and 38 per cent would grant no legal recognition to these partnerships.

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.

In an Oct. 21 televised debate, several Republican Party presidential hopefuls discussed their views on same-sex unions. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said federal action might be required if more states grant homosexual couples the right to marry, adding, "If a lot of states start to do that—three, four, five, six states, where we have that kind of judicial activism, (...) we’re dealing with a real problem. Then we should have a constitutional amendment." Texas congressman Ron Paul declared: "All voluntary associations, whether they’re economic or social, should be protected by the law."

Polling Data

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view? - "Same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry", or "Same-sex couples should be allowed to legally form civil unions, but not marry", or "Same -sex couples should not be allowed to either marry or form civil unions".

Legally marry	30%
Legally form civil unions but not marry	26%
No marriage or civil union	38%
Don’t know	6%

Source: Bloomberg / Los Angeles Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,209 American adults, conducted from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.