Posted on 05/28/2008 7:50:55 AM PDT by SmithL
In a dramatic reversal of decades of public opinion, California voters agree by a slim majority that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, according to a Field Poll released today.
By 51-42 percent, registered voters said they believed same-sex marriage should be legal in California. Only 28 percent favored gay marriage in 1977, when the Field Poll first asked that question, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director.
"This is a milestone in California," he said. "You can't downplay the importance of a change in an issue we've been tracking for 30 years."
While opposition to same-sex marriage has been weakening for years in California, supporters have remained a minority. In March 2000, for example, voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition 22, a statute that said the state would recognize only the marriage of a man and a woman. A 2006 Field Poll showed that half the state's voters still disapproved of same-sex marriage.
But the state Supreme Court's decision this month to overturn Prop. 22 might have turned the tide, DiCamillo said.
"There's a certain validation when the state Supreme Court makes a ruling that you can't discriminate when it comes to marriage," he said. "That may have been enough to move some people who were on the fence about same-sex marriage."
Younger voters and those living in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and other Democratic urban strongholds were the most supportive of same-sex marriage, the poll found, while older voters and those living in the more conservative inland areas were more opposed.
The poll also provided a boost for groups planning to battle a measure to ban same-sex marriage that is expected to go on the ballot in November as a constitutional amendment. By 51-43 percent, registered voters oppose changing the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, according to the poll.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I actually believe it... I don’t think it’s that far off the mark. I think many of you are guilty of trashing this, like other polls, just because you don’t agree with the end-result.
Your assumptions sound reasoned. I keep thinking there will be an awakening in our nation, but it sure hasn’t seemed to materialize yet, you don’t sound off track to me.
LOL, we’ll I’m not betting against it at any rate.
Look at ABC- they show it blatantly with the marriage of 2 characters, and outing of another relative (on Brothers and Sisters)... throughout, they seek to "romaticize" the relationship - story-line, music, etc... Also, this week, Grey's anatomy... Also, the hottest song around, "I Kissed a Girl" gets played tom death on mainstream pop stations...
That's just the way they do it... Saturate the airwaves on one side, and on the other, tell you you're ignorant and biased if you shout any disapproval...
Never underestimate the media's ability to craft public opinion, policy, and morality.
No kidding. What a hoot.
There won’t be an awakening. It’s one of things that goes one way...
Once pandora’s box is opened, it’s there for good... Like the Northeast corridor and Western Pacific- these regions will never again go red.
I agree.
You’re making a huge leap of faith, in assuming the Field organization is corrupt and bought by the gy lobby... That’s so wrong on so many fronts...
Honestly, it’s tough to know if they are gaming you or not. You just have to go with your gutt at this stage.
Check out this response.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2022448/posts?page=38#38
Good to know there’s another poll out there, with a contrarian view... but let me know if post #44 is out of touch with reality... I strongly believe this, but would love to be proven wrong.
Don’t forget that the South was solid Democrat for a long time. That was broken up back in the 60s and has been pretty conservative since.
I know what you mean, and I’m not saying it’s going to change overnight. It may change in time though.
“California Majority Backs Gay Marriage”
Not the majority I’m speaking with, they oppose gay marriage. This is just another rigged poll IMO to either pressure those on the fence or convince supporters of an amendment to stay home in November. All the more important to get out and vote this fall.
I don’t disagree with you. And you’ve just touched on the main reason I won’t watch those programs. I feel soiled after watching them.
I’m no prude. I watch some trash shows, but at least they make no pretense about what they are. Grays Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters are crafted to appear mainstream while they sell alternative moral stances just as you have described.
I don’t have much patience for that.
That's preciesely WHY the Supreme Court of CA did this. It's also why the Supreme Judicial Court of MA did it. They wanted to CREATE the support, that wasn't there before, for homosexual 'marriage' by presenting it as a fait accompli, that many will accept, just because it is the "law". They saw how quickly people accepted abortion after the "Roe v Wade" decision, so they know that liberal judicial activism works.
Oxymoron.........
I've been complaining for years that Bush has destroyed the GOP and conservatives, for years (decades?) to come... In the past, we've fought back against the Dem lies, but during the past 8 years, there was none of that. All of the debates are one-sides... (tax cuts favor the rich, the war was concocted for political purposes, Bush/Cheney told lie after lie after lie, we want to cut all social programs, don't care about the poor, party of the rich, party of war, we're the mean, insensitive party, etc etc etc)... By not fighting back, Bush and Cheney did us a great disservce... All of these lies have been cemented as truth in the eyes of most voters...
Add to it the increasingly brazen partisan all-powerful (yes, still all-powerful) MSM that supports everything the libs do... Sprinkle on Americans' newly found ability to focus for seconds at a time on things like politics, getting much of their news from headlines or soundbites, cause it's easier than doing the heavy-lifting and sifting through the lies to get to the truth
Add to it the fact that the GOP has behaved like libs with spending and immigration, and we've doomed our party... On top of that, throw in tens of millions of new immigrant/citizens... guess which way they're going to vote...
Tell me again where we should be optimistic in terms of political direction?
Exactly!
Only poll I care about is the one taken back in 2000 in the voting booth.
How’d THAT one turn out?
Yes it does, and especially if you have a governor like Schwarzenegger. Look at Prop 187 and how Davis sat on it to screw the citizens of California. That worked!
Sadly, I would agree. It’s a family member.
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