The two-bill open hearing that Maine’s House Judiciary Committee is hosting is already underway. But as legislators listen from constituents on whether they want to overturn the same-sex marriage ban and/or create a domestic partnership registry to grant gay couples some marital rights, Maine’s populus have weighed in already.
With polls — the sometimes-accurate, often-flawed, partly-meaningless, and many-times-completely-accurate means of tracking popular opinion.
One poll says 47.3 percent of residents support repealing the same-sex marriage ban; 49.5 percent oppose it. The rest (3.2 percent) haven’t decided; the margin of error is 4.9 percent. Conducted by the Pan Atlantic SMS Group Omnibus Poll, some 400 people were surveyed, reports the Bangor Daily News. Opponents to the bills argue not enough people were asked.
A second question asked respondents to choose the statement which most accurately described their “position on the issue of marriage for gay and lesbian couples and civil unions”:
How about we take this to the next level?
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• 39.3%: “Support for full marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples”
• 34.5%: “Support gay and civil unions or partnerships, but not gay marriage.”
• 23%: “Oppose any legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples.”
• 3.2%: Don’t know
Adds the Daily News:
The polling firm compared data from a similar poll on the same subject in March 2004. Since then, support for same-sex marriage has increased 9 percent while support for same sex unions has risen just 1 percent.
Maine residents that oppose both same-sex marriage and civil unions fell from 31.8 percent in 2004 to 23 percent in 2009, while the people who don’t know which they prefer rose from 2.5 to 3.3 percent.
Data from the poll showed that 49.5 percent of Mainers between the ages of 18 and 34 support same-sex marriage while just 31.7 percent of those over 55 do. Democrats — 50.3 percent of them — are more likely to favor the proposed change in marriage laws than Republicans.
Only 18.3 percent of those polled who identified themselves as members of the GOP said they support same-sex marriage. A similar gap exists geographically, with more supporters in southern Maine than in the northern and Down East regions supporting same-sex marriage.
harry mattachine
The problem with polls and any quantification of civil rights. It doesn’t matter how many Maine voters believe a part of the population deserves to be discriminated against. DOMA is unconstitutional. Equal rights is good for everybody; anything less harms everybody.
Bruno
It’s looking like similar polls from blue states. I’m really wondering if we can just take civil unions off the table somehow, but I guess with Illinois and other states choosing that route it’ll be impossible. On the other hand, civil unions in every state would be much better than what we have currently. Let’s hope the Maine legislature and governor see the trend and do the right thing.
AlwaysGay
Please phone and/ or email Maine State Legislators NOW and encourage them to vote YES on marriage equality. It’s very important.
Maine Senate
http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/senators/email/maillst.htm
Maine House
http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/e_mail.htm
http://www4.egov.nh.gov/governor/goveforms/comments.asp
Bruno
The polls are very significant in that even if the bill passes and isn’t vetoed, the people can effect a veto through the referendum process:
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/List_of_People%27s_Veto_ballot_measures_in_Maine
This would be proposition 8, mach 2.
Qjersey
Although our goal is “marriage” in name and legalese, an effective strategy to sway the rest of the nation would be to (re)create a institution, civil unions, open to all persons over the age of 18 gay or straight. If enough straight couples switch over to civil unions, the rest of the county may finally get the point, and our allies can really then stand with us rather than us trying to stand with them.