A new Quinnipiac University Poll showing New York State’s support for same-sex marriage at an all-time high, with 56 percent supporting it and 37 percent opposed. Though I’ve got a feeling those numbers are juiced by respondents who are just sick of being asked this question and want legislators to just freakin’ do this already.
survey says
56% Of New Yorkers Know Gay Marriage Won’t Make God Send More Snow
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randy
It means nothing, really. As we saw time and time again, people lie on these polls, or at least our supporters don’t show up at the polls. And even if it were true, there is a rule that politicians will ignore gay support unless it is over 70% support. Look at DADT — we had the almost 80% of American support repeal, yet the GOP voted entirely against us, and the Dems voted with us only because we held their feet to the fire.
Call it the gay exception to polling, but a simple majority isn’t enough to move politicians.
CHIP1218
The reason why Republicans who might support marriage equality (or GOP Congress members who might support DADT repeal) don’t vote for it is simple – JOB SECURITY. It’s not the moderate Republicans who come out to the polls and vote for people in the primaries, it’s the conservatives who overwhelmingly come out. Add to the fact in New York State the Conservative Party Chairman said he wouldn’t endorse any GOP State Senator that voted for Marriage Equality, and all those Moderate Republicans realized their vote for Marriage Equality could be the end of their political career.
Very few people out there are willing to be martyrs for a cause, especially one that isn’t so important to them.
As for these voters in favor of marriage equality, well, they might be in favor of gays and lesbians getting married, but they also like their taxes lower, and many swing voters went with their Republican State Senator for fiscal reasons, not social ones.
John (CA)
Support for DADT repeal was ridiculously high only when Congress wasn’t actually considering it. When the legislation was finally introduced by Rep. Patrick Murphy and debated on, public support plummeted to the mid-50s in the CNN poll. According to the Field poll, over 60% of Californians supported marriage equality in the summer of 2008. That support started eroding steadily as NOM dominated the airwaves and election day approached. And by October of that year, Prop. 8 was clearly headed towards passage.
As is the case with the politicians they elect, ordinary Americans’ support for gay rights has always been very inconsistent and non-committal.
Jim Hlavac
It’s been only 7 years since Lawrence v. Texas. It’s been only 40 years of peaceful agitation. It’s remarkable progress — from 0 to 60, so to speak, in just a rather short time. And it’ll happen, for the whole thing is speeding up. And far too many people are realizing exactly that it’s pointless to really be against it. And soon it’ll be that everyone will wonder what all the fuss was all about. And in a weird, counterintuitive way, it’ll be one of our most strident opponents who will push it over the edge. I feel that our Bull Connor moment is coming. He was the sheriff who almost single handedly ended segregation by turning fire hoses on young kids marching for civil rights in Alabama. We will have a similar moment soon. Unfortunately it might take that, but it’s coming. Those who would outlaw us again, or deport us, or round us up to cure us, are thinking their getting a lot of support by masquerading behind “family values.” When their truth comes out big the nation will be appalled. I can’t wait, and I got front row seats!
Francis
Well the truth is, a lot of people believe they *should* support our rights, but eventually don’t, or eventually stand on the sidelines and do nothing, and ignore. That’s why a lot of anti-gays so quickly try to run away from that label. People know what they should do, they know what’s right, but there is this impulse in the minds of SO many people that “Wait, if I do this, am I going to hell?” or “What if people think I’m gay.” So therefore, people run away or vote against us instead of staying strong. Or people gay bash us. It’s all insecurity. People who take out their insecurities of us, on us.
We’re in a time period where we have gained somewhat of a public voice, awareness, and acceptance. But that acceptance and attitudes towards us is very wavering and insecure. A lot of people are only now starting to sort of awaken from the depths of homophobic bullshit. Sort of like Obama’s statements of how he’s conflicted, even though they are political bullshit on his part, it is a reality with a lot of people. It’s going to take a while yet for true acceptance to set in, which will come from the younger generations and their kids especially. A majority of people, including many gays, including many actual gay supporters, are still uncomfortable with basically everything gay. It’s still “different” for them and hard to wrap their heads around. That wall is what will need to break down to see that final push towards truly equality for all legal citizens.
With all of that said, less than 10 years ago there was still a federal sodomy law, and over half the country thought homosexuality was immoral. We’ve made a ton of progress, and for the most part we’ve been accepted as gay. Now we have to be accepted as OK. And that’s what’s going to be the final nail in the coffin for homophobes.