Poll shows most Californians favor gay marriage
May 28, 2008
Edwin Garcia - San Jose Mercury NewsIssue date: 5/22/08 Section: Real News
SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ For the first time ever, a statewide survey reports a majority of California voters favor gay marriage _ a finding that pollsters describe as a milestone driven by younger voters.
The Field Poll result, released Wednesday shows the highest level of support in more than three decades of polling Californians on the hot-button issue of same-sex marriage laws. The poll found 51 percent of registered voters favor the idea of allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed, while 42 percent disapprove.
An almost identical result was recorded in the random survey of whether voters favor an amendment to the state constitution that will likely appear on the November ballot, which seeks to define marriage as between a man and a woman: Fifty-one percent opposed that proposal, the survey reported, while 43 percent approved of the restrictive amendment.
"I would characterize it as a historic poll," said Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo, noting that a marked number of young voters _ more than two of every three _ supported permitting same-sex nuptials. DiCamillo called the result one of the rare issues "where public tolerance I would say is generationally induced."
The random-sample survey went into circulation May 17 _ just two days after the California Supreme Court's landmark ruling that struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, a decision that opponents would like voters to overturn through the proposed amendment. Gay marriages are likely to begin this summer, unless the state court agrees to reconsider its ruling or delay its taking effect until after the November election.
The poll of 1,052 registered voters has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, and the results, while notable, show the public clearly divided on the issue. When voters were asked about the ruling, the results were nearly even: 48 percent supporting the court ruling permitting same-sex marriage, and 46 percent opposed.
The Field findings were released less than a week after another statewide survey, the Los Angeles Times/KTLA Poll, showed a different outcome of the divided population: 41 percent of respondents said they approved of the Supreme Court's decision to allow same sex marriage, and 52 percent said they disapproved.
The Field Poll result, released Wednesday shows the highest level of support in more than three decades of polling Californians on the hot-button issue of same-sex marriage laws. The poll found 51 percent of registered voters favor the idea of allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed, while 42 percent disapprove.
An almost identical result was recorded in the random survey of whether voters favor an amendment to the state constitution that will likely appear on the November ballot, which seeks to define marriage as between a man and a woman: Fifty-one percent opposed that proposal, the survey reported, while 43 percent approved of the restrictive amendment.
"I would characterize it as a historic poll," said Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo, noting that a marked number of young voters _ more than two of every three _ supported permitting same-sex nuptials. DiCamillo called the result one of the rare issues "where public tolerance I would say is generationally induced."
The random-sample survey went into circulation May 17 _ just two days after the California Supreme Court's landmark ruling that struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, a decision that opponents would like voters to overturn through the proposed amendment. Gay marriages are likely to begin this summer, unless the state court agrees to reconsider its ruling or delay its taking effect until after the November election.
The poll of 1,052 registered voters has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, and the results, while notable, show the public clearly divided on the issue. When voters were asked about the ruling, the results were nearly even: 48 percent supporting the court ruling permitting same-sex marriage, and 46 percent opposed.
The Field findings were released less than a week after another statewide survey, the Los Angeles Times/KTLA Poll, showed a different outcome of the divided population: 41 percent of respondents said they approved of the Supreme Court's decision to allow same sex marriage, and 52 percent said they disapproved.
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