Single U.S. public opinion polls

Same-sex marriages and civil unions

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Note:

This essay describes the results of a number of public opinion polls among U.S. adults. Some polling companies have also conducted polls -- often on an annual basis -- in which the same question is asked repeatedly. 

A bit of perspective:

It may be worth noting that a rapid change in the U.S. occurred over a little more than four decades concerning interracial marriage:

Status of same-sex marriages and civil unions:

At this time, same-sex marriages are only available to residents of the Netherlands. The Dutch lawmakers have simply re-written their marriage laws so that couples of all sexual orientations can marry. However, the state of Vermont allows gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions. These couples receive all of the rights, privileges, and obligations that the state gives to married couples. Several provinces in Canada offer similar arrangements, which is typically called a domestic partnership. The Canadian federal government has recently been ordered by courts to implement some form of same-sex marriage or civil union across all provinces and territories by mid 2004.

Overview:

A battle has been in progress for years over whether equal rights and equal protection against discrimination should be extended to homosexuals. Recently, this has expanded into the area of same-sex marriage. The core conflict is whether:

The number of people who oppose equal rights for gays and lesbians is far greater than the number of homosexuals. Few politicians are willing to alienate 50% of the population in order to extend equal rights to, say, 5%. Change will probably have to come through the courts. 

As of early 2000:

[Author's note: History has shown that once a discriminated-against group organizes and brings their demands for equal rights before the public, that equal rights are eventually granted. This has happened in the past with respect to slavery, racial segregation, women's suffrage, equal opportunities for women, and inter-racial marriage. Somehow society has adapted to the changes. We expect that equality will be granted to gays and lesbians by actions of state governments in the U.S. and at the federal level in Canada. But it will not be a simple change in legislation that will change the existing marriage acts to include gays and lesbians. It will probably take the form of legislation creating a new class of relationship called a same-sex partnership or civil union, or some similar term. This new form of government-recognized relationship will have rights fully equal to those of heterosexual married couples, at least on the state/provincial level. This happened first in Vermont.]

Single polls:

1996-MAR: The Gallup Organization found that 68% of American adults opposed gay marriages; 27% were in favor.

1996-JUN: An American public opinion poll was taken in by ICR Survey Research Group of Media, PA. Results are correct within 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

1996-SEP: Women in Technology International (WITI) is an "association of 6,000 women, 95% of whom are professional women working in technology organizations." One would expect that the would have a high approval rating of same-sex marriages because they are women and because most women in technology organizations are young. "...for example, the number of undergraduate EE degrees earned by women has leaped nearly 10-fold over the past two decades." The poll results from their membership were not surprising:

1997-APR-19: A a telephone poll in Oregon found that only 37% of adults favored passing a bill that prohibited same-sex marriages; 56% opposed the bill.

1997: A variety of polls indicated that women are about evenly divided on whether gays and lesbians should be given equal access marriage. Americans of both genders under the age of 35 are also evenly matched. A minority of registered voters in the US say that they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who support gay rights, including gay marriage.

1998-JUL: Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted a telephone poll for Newsweek magazine on 1998-JUL-28 to 31. Involved were 602 randomly selected adults for the "overall population" responses and 502 randomly selected gay men and lesbians for the "gay" responses. Margin of error is 4 and 5%, 19 times out of 20.

The magazine reported that young adults (ages 18-29 ) were "significantly more accepting of gay marriage" than people over 30. And baby boomers were more tolerant than people over 50. ₂

1998-OCT: The Honolulu Star-Bulletin and NBC Hawaii conducted two polls during the weeks before a referendum on same-sex marriages. The referendum gave the Hawaii Legislature the power to reserve marriage to opposite sex couples.

The polling company, Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc., attributed the flip-flop to the confusion over the wording of the referendum. Those opposing same-sex marriages were to vote "yes;" those in favor were to vote "no." ₃

2000-FEB: U.S. data: A Harris Poll released in early 2000-FEB shows:

Opposition to same-sex marriage appears to be far below the level of opposition to marriage of mixed-race couples in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared the remaining 16 state miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

2000-MAR: California data: A series of polls were taken during late 2000-FEB by the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Examiner. Another poll was taken by the Public Policy Institute of California during 2000-FEB. The polls asked the subject's opinion on Proposition 22 that would state that "Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized." The proposition was accepted by the voters on 2000-MAR-7.

2001-NOV: Poll by VOTE.com: VOTE.com conducted a Internet poll concerning a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would declare that a marriage can only be between one man and one woman. At the current time, the federal government and many states have Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs) which require this. However, their constitutionality is questionable. They could be overturned by court actions. If the prohibition of same-sex marriage were embedded in the U.S. Constitution, then it could not be as easily overturned. A second amendment to the Constitution would be required. Donna Payne of the Human Rights Campaign said: "This is an unnecessary attack on lesbian and gay Americans that would create a constitutionally mandated second class of American citizens." People on the Internet were asked whether they wanted to "Preserve the traditional definition of marriage" by voting Yes, or preferred that lawmakers "Don't rewrite the Constitution to bash gays," by voting No. 138,130 people voted: 55% in favor of the amendment and 45% opposed. It is important to realize that the voters are self-selected and may not represent an accurate cross-section of the American public. ₅

2003-APR: Massachusetts data: By a slim majority, most residents of the state favored allowing same-sex couples to marry.

The poll was taken by KRC Communications Research for Globe/WBZ. Margin of error: 5%

2003-MAY: Civil unions, and healthcare / Social Security survivor benefits: The Gallup Organization conducted a poll asking for public opinion on a law that would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions and receive some of the legal rights of married couples. The nation's adults are, for the first time, evenly divided:

For the first time, the Gallup Organization sought the public's opinion about healthcare and Social Security for same-sex committed couples. The question was: "Do you think homosexual couples should or should not have the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples regarding healthcare benefits and Social Security survivor benefits?" American adults appear to be more strongly in favor of equal benefits for gays and lesbians than are in favor of civil unions: ₆

2003-APR-11 to 22: New Hampshire poll: The University of New Hampshire Survey Center conducted a poll of 509 adults in the state. Margin of error is 4.4%. Some findings:

On legalizing same-sex marriage, 65% of women but only 43% of men were in favor. Seventy percent of subjects aged 18 to 29 years favored same-sex marriage; only 32% of those over 69 were in favor. ₇

Some results of the poll:

Moran and Chadwick were surprised at finding more support from men than from women. They said: "Usually, home- and marriage-oriented women tend to be more understanding of same sex relationships than men. The overall results, especially among the youngest county residents, certainly reflect a changing public opinion of this controversial subject, especially in a blue-collar county where such a view would not be expected." ₁₀

2004-MAR-24: Focus on the Family web site poll: Focus on the Family is a Fundamentalist Christian group centered in Colorado. They hold "Love won out" conferences that try to teach parents how to prevent homosexuality in their children, and to teach gays and lesbians to become heterosexuals. They conducted an opinion poll on their web site. The question was: "Do you think homosexual couples should be able to marry? ₁₁ Result were:

2005-MAY-09: Boston Globe poll: The Boston Globe sponsored a national poll conducted by the New Hampshire Survey Center. They polled 760 American adults. The margin of error is ±3.6 percentage points. Results were:

On related topics:

2006-MAR: Poll by Angus Reid Global Scan:

This poll was taken among adults in California. The found that a substantial majority of California residents favored legal registration of loving, committed, same-sex relationships, by half disapproved of allowing same-sex couples to marry.

When asked whether the state should recognize same-sex relationships, or merely consider them as roommates, their response was spit in a three-way tie:

When allowed only the choice between two alternatives, the results were:

It is worth noting that in the year 2000, Californians were able to vote on Proposition 22 which banned same-sex marriage. It was approved by a 61.4% majority. At first glance, this would indicate a 10 percentage point drop in opposition to same-sex marriage. However, the two numbers represent different populations. The Proposition would include some individuals who were so opposed to SSM that they made a point of turning out to vote for the proposition. On the other hand, this survey selected people at random. Also, the proposition was called a "Defense of Marriage Act" which may have biased the voters in favor of the proposition and against SSM. Also, the wording of the proposition question and the survey question were different. All three factors would tend to bias results. We hope that Angus Reid will repeat the survey with the same questions in the future, so that trends will be detectable.

2006-MAY-08: A Gallup Organization poll: They conducted a poll among 1,002 American adults from 2006-MAY-08 to 11. The margin of error is about 3 percentage points. Results were:

2006-MAR: Poll by Angus Reid Global Scan:

This poll was taken among adults in California. The found that a substantial majority of California residents favored legal registration of loving, committed, same-sex relationships, by half disapproved of allowing same-sex couples to marry.

When asked whether the state should recognize same-sex relationships, or merely consider them as roommates, their response was spit in a three-way tie:

When allowed only the choice between two alternatives, the results were:

It is worth noting that in the year 2000, Californians were able to vote on Proposition 22 which banned same-sex marriage. It was approved by a 61.4% majority. At first glance, this would indicate a 10 percentage point drop in opposition to same-sex marriage. However, the two numbers represent different populations. The Proposition would include some individuals who were so opposed to SSM that they made a point of turning out to vote for the proposition. On the other hand, this survey selected people at random. Also, the proposition was called a "Defense of Marriage Act" which may have biased the voters in favor of the proposition and against SSM. Also, the wording of the proposition question and the survey question were different. All three factors would tend to bias results. We hope that Angus Reid will repeat the survey with the same questions in the future, so that trends will be detectable. ₁₇

References:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still accessible today.

1. Angus Reid Group, Inc; poll released on 1996-JUN-7
2. Newsweek magazine, 1998-AUG-17, Pages 50-52.
3. "55% favor ban on same-sex", at: http://starbulletin.com/
4. "Most in poll want gay marriages legalized," The Globe and Mail, 1999-JUN-10, Pages A1 A8, A16.
5. The Vote.com data is available from their archives at: http://www.vote.com/
6. "Six out of 10 Americans Say Homosexual Relations Should Be Recognized as Legal But Americans are evenly divided on issue of legal civil unions between homosexuals giving them the legal rights of married couples," The Gallup Organization, 2003-MAY-15, at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/ **
7. "New Hampshire supports same-sex marriage; Poll finds majority in favor," New Hampshire Freedom to Marry, 2003-MAY-23, at: http://www.nhftm.org/
8. Frank Newport, "Six out of 10 Americans Say Homosexual Relations Should Be Recognized as Legal. But Americans are evenly divided on issue of legal civil unions between homosexuals giving them the legal rights of married couples," Gallup News Service, 2003-MAY-15, at: http://www.lmfct.org/
9. Frank Phillips, "Support for gay marriage," Love Makes a Family, 2003-APR-8, at: http://www.lmfct.org/news_mass_Poll.htm ]
10. Peter Weiss, "Shocking results in gay marriage poll," The Jersey Journal, 2003-MAY-5, at: http://www.gaypasg.org/
11. "Hand count," Focus on the Family, 2004-MAR-24, at: http://www.family.org/
12. Scott S. Greenberger, "One year later, nation divided on gay marriage. Split seen by region, age, Globe poll finds," Boston Globe, 2005-MAY-15, at: http://www.boston.com/
13. Gail Mathabane, "Gays face same battle interracial couples fought," USA Today, 2004-JAN-25.
14. John Rogers, "Kung Fu Monkey" blog, 2005-MAR-16, at: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/
15. Michael Foust, "Gallup poll: 58 percent oppose 'gay marriage,' half support amend.," Baptist Press, 2006-MAY-22, at: http://www.bpnews.net/
16. Gail Mathabane, "Gays face same battle interracial couples fought," USA Today, 2004-JAN-25.
17. "Californians Do Not Support Gay 'Marriage,' Says Poll," 2006-MAR-24, LifeSiteNews.com

** Gallup Poll data typically remains accessible to the public for a limited time, and then requires a premium membership to access.

Related essay in this web site:

Copyright © 1996 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally published: 1996-SEP-25
Latest update: 2007-DEC-23
Author: B.A. Robinson