skip to main content
Support for Gay Marriage/Civil Unions Edges Upward

Support for Gay Marriage/Civil Unions Edges Upward

Public remains divided on constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage

by David W. Moore and Joseph Carroll

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Same-sex marriages have been cleared to become legal Monday in Massachusetts after a federal judge last week refused a challenge to the Massachusetts court ruling that granted same-sex couples the right to marry. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey finds a modest increase in the number of Americans who support giving gay couples some of the legal rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. The public is about evenly divided on a law that would establish gay civil unions with some of the same rights that marriages have, and it remains more opposed than supportive of giving gay marriages the same legal status as traditional marriages. However, for both proposals, there is somewhat greater support today than there was several months ago. Still, there has been little change in the ambivalence the public expresses about adopting a constitutional amendment that would effectively ban gay marriage, with slightly more people in support than opposed.

The poll, conducted May 2-4, 2004, finds that when the question on civil unions is asked before any mention of gay marriage, 49% of Americans favor and 48% oppose "a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples." These views are similar to those expressed a year ago, in a May 5-7, 2003, poll, which also found a divided public, 49% in favor and 49% opposed. But the following July, in the wake of a Supreme Court decision overturning a Texas law that prohibited sodomy between same-sex couples, there appeared to be a public backlash, as support for civil unions dropped to 40% and opposition increased to 57%.

Would You Favor or Oppose a Law That Would Allow Homosexual Couples to Legally Form Civil Unions?

The poll also finds that when questions about gay marriage are asked before any mention of civil unions, 42% of Americans say that "marriages between homosexuals should be recognized by the law as valid," an increase from 33% in March of this year.

Do You Think Marriages Between Homosexuals Should or Should Not Be
Recognized by the Law as Valid?

This is the highest level of support found by Gallup since it began asking the question in 1996.

The current poll also shows that when people are asked first about gay marriage and then about civil unions, support for civil unions is higher than when people are asked about civil unions first. These results suggest that many people see civil unions as an alternative to gay marriage, and once they can express their opposition to the latter, they are more willing to embrace the "civil unions" alternative.

Similarly, support for gay marriage is lower once people have expressed their opinions about civil unions than it is when gay marriage is mentioned first. Taken together, these results show about a third of Americans (35%) supporting gay marriage after being asked about civil unions, and a clear majority (56%) supporting gay civil unions after being asked about gay marriage.

Attitudes About Gay Marriage and Civil Unions
May 2-4, 2004

A Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage

The public remains about evenly divided on an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would "define marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus barring marriages between gay or lesbian couples." The current poll finds 51% in favor and 45% opposed, little changed from the average of responses Gallup has received in four previous polls.

Would You Favor or Oppose a Constitutional Amendment That Would Define Marriage as Being Between a Man and a Woman?

People's views on this issue of gay marriage and civil unions are highly related to party affiliation and to people's religious beliefs. The more religious people are (as reflected in higher church attendance), the more opposed they are to gay unions and marriages. Similarly, there is a great partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats. And, while the abortion issue is technically not related to acceptance of gay marriage, there is a very strong correlation between the two issues -- reinforcing the cultural divide that exists on issues of sex and religion.

The poll shows that 69% of Republicans support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, while 28% oppose it. Independents are evenly split in their views on passing such an amendment, with 48% supporting and 46% opposing it. Support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage drops considerably among Democrats, with 38% in favor and 60% opposed.

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage as Being Between a Man and a Woman
by partisanship
May 2-4, 2004

While 66% of people who attend church weekly support the amendment, only 41% of Americans who seldom or never attend church give their support. A slight majority, 52%, of those who attend church nearly weekly support the notion of a constitutional amendment.

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage as Being Between a Man and a Woman
by church attendance
May 2-4, 2004

The issue of abortion is not directly related to gay marriage, as there is nothing inconsistent in supporting gay civil unions and opposing abortion. However, from a cultural and religious viewpoint, the issues are highly related. The poll shows that "pro-life" Americans support an amendment to ban gay marriage by almost a 3-to-1 margin, 71% to 26%. People who are "pro-choice," however, oppose the amendment by almost a 2-to-1 margin, 63% to 34%.

Constitutional Amendment Defining Marriage as Being Between a Man and a Woman
by position on abortion
May 2-4, 2004

This difference between self-identified pro-choice and pro-life Americans is even greater than the difference between frequent and infrequent church attendees -- but similar to the difference between Republicans and Democrats.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,000 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 2-4, 2004. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. For results based on the 519 national adults in the Form A half-sample and the 481 national adults in the Form B half-sample, the maximum margins of sampling error are ±5 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/11689/Support-Gay-MarriageCivil-Unions-Edges-Upward.aspx
Gallup World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
+1 202.715.3030