Bob CollinsThe polling firm, Public Policy Polling, is out with a new poll, saying if same-sex marriage were on next year’s ballot, “it would probably pass.”
The poll says 47 think same-sex marriage should be legalized, 45% think it should be illegal.
Although that’s a narrow margin, the rapid movement in public opinion in favor of gay marriage over the last few years suggests that 22 months from now it would probably pass by a broader margin. Whether it’s next year or not, the generational breakdown on our numbers makes it clear the direction things are going in- voters under 45 support gay marriage by a 53/38 margin. It’s just 36/54 opposition among seniors dragging down its overall support.
When civil unions are introduced into the discussion 75% of voters support some form of legal recognition for gay couples to only 23% who are completely opposed to it. Even among Republican voters 56% at least support civil unions.
In November, the percentage of people voting against banning same-sex marriage in the Constitution was 51-to-47.5 percent, possibly indicating that about 4% of the people voting against the amendment in November weren’t necessarily voting for same-sex marriage to be legalized.
Here’s the full poll. There were several other issues in the poll, including a finding that 54 percent Minnesota Republicans think President Obama should be impeached.
