Public Divided on Support for Legal Status for Gay Couples
Forty-one percent of Maricopa county voters indicate that they support some legal status for gay couples, while a further 11% are undecided on the issue, according to a just-released O’Neil Associates Valley Monitor. A random sampling of Maricopa county voters was asked the question, "Do you feel that long-term gay couples should be permitted to marry, given the option of some legal status short of marriage, or that their union should have no legal status at all?"
O'Neil continued, "While the largest single group, 49%, indicated that they preferred no legal status for gay couples whatsoever, we think the biggest surprise in this survey is the growth in recent years of the number who either hold the belief that gays should be given at least some legal status (a composite total of 41%) or are ambivalent about the issue (11%)." (These numbers add to 101% due to rounding.)
O'Neil further stated, "There are a number of interesting demographic differences between groups. One of the most conspicuous relationships is that of age: fully 40% of persons 18-29 years of age believe that gay couples should be permitted to marry. When we add in the 11% of this group who believe they should be afforded some legal status, this number becomes a majority within this particular group. In contrast, support for gay marriage is only 11% among those 65 years and older."
There is a relationship with education, but it is not nearly as strong. Thirty-three percent of those with a high school diploma or less education favor some legal status for gay couples, a number that rises to 44% among those with a college degree. There is also a significant difference by political party. Among Democrats, 30% favor granting of marital status and an additional 29% favor some legal status for gay couples. Among Republicans, these figures are 11% and 16% respectively. Support for gay marriage is actually higher (37%) among persons not aligned with either the Democratic or Republican Parties. Nearly half (47%) of self-identified liberals favor gay marriages compared to only 26% among moderates and 7% among conservatives.
Likewise, females are somewhat more supportive of gay marriage (25%) than are males (18%). When we look at support for the provision of at least some legal status for gay couples, this figure rises to 48% among women, compared to only 33% among men.
O'Neil concluded, "Although, we do not have historical data on this question, I strongly suspect that these numbers reflect increasing support for legalizing gay marriage or, alternatively, some legal status for long-term gay couples. While only time will ultimately tell, this does strike me as the kind of issue for which it is likely that the level of support will increase over time. Indeed, the higher level of support among the youngest groups in the population makes such an increase, over time, almost inevitable."
About the Poll. The O’Neil Associates Valley Monitor is an independent, scientific, periodic random community survey of the metropolitan Phoenix area and the State of Arizona; as always, this Valley Monitor poll was not sponsored or paid for by any outside organization. Four hundred interviews were conducted with randomly selected Maricopa county voters between August 28 and September 3, 2001. The “sampling error” associated with this survey is approximately ±5.0%. In other words, the chances are approximately 95 in 100 that we would have obtained the same results—within a margin of ±5.0%—had we interviewed every Maricopa county voter. Other sources of possible survey error, such as question wording, should also be considered, but are inherently not quantifiable.
| O’Neil Associates, Inc. is a Tempe-based public opinion research firm specializing in client-focused attitude and awareness studies for a wide variety of industries and organizations. FOR RELEASE: Monday, October 8, 2001 (VMP2001-179-1614) |