57% of New York voters agree marriage is ‘only’ heterosexual, fewer than 1 in 3 disagree: poll
Image via WikipediaWhile same-sex ‘marriage’ polls have consistently found New York voters supportive of change, the dramatically reversed results of a new poll commissioned by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) hint at the flexibility of public opinion on the issue, depending on whether the question is framed in terms of support for traditional marriage or not.
The poll was performed June 18-19 by the D.C.-based polling firm QEV Analytics, which asked 302 random voters their view on marriage via telephone, with a margin of error of 5.6 percent.
When asked: “Do you agree or disagree that marriage should only be between a man and a woman?” 57 percent agreed, and 32 percent disagreed.
In addition, when questioned whether the issue should be “decided by legislators in Albany, or ... directly by the voters of New York,” 59 percent sided with voter approval, with 26 percent preferring legislative action.
The state Senate may vote on same-sex ‘marriage,’ which the Assembly has already passed, as early as today. Supporters of the change have struggled to gain the support of one final vote needed to guarantee passage in the Republican-led chamber.
A Quinnipiac Poll released June 2 dealing with several state political issues found 58 percent of New York voters in support when asked: “Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to get married?”
That number has been slowly but steadily rising in Quinnipiac’s data; it was at 56 percent in April 2011 and 47 percent in December 2009.
However, the poll also found that gay ‘marriage’ was near bottom when voters were asked to prioritize several issues.
The results when the question of marriage is put to voters has proven a notorious wildcard for same-sex ‘marriage’ supporters: a September 2008 survey found that lead-up polls on average vastly underestimated actual support for traditional marriage at the polling both.
As further proof, California voters later that year voted in favor of traditional marriage, despite the fact that they had polled solidly in favor of same-sex ‘marriage’ before the vote.
NOM president Brian Brown accused opponents of politicizing the marriage question at the expense of the will of voters.
“New Yorkers have heard of Andrew Cuomo’s push for gay marriage, but they do not share his priorities,” said Brown. “For the Republicans to use their newfound control to pass a measure with such weak public support in order to help Andrew Cuomo run for president of the United States is not only wrong but a colossal blunder.”
