Thursday, June 15, 2006

Illinois Poll Shows Voters Against Gay Marriage Amendment

Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax Blog today discusses recent poll results in Illinois. His conclusion on the poll results: "Illinoisans don’t want the state or U.S. constitutions rewritten to ban gay marriage." The poll, which was taken by Chicago-based Glengariff Group, found that while 51% of Illinoisans were opposed to gay marriage, only 40% supported asking state lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The poll found that there was even less support for amending the U.S. Constitution with 62% opposed. On the issue of civil unions, 50% of the respondents supported legal recognition of civil unions, which would give same-sex couples the legal benefits of a marriage without callling it marriage.

Miller notes that gay marriage opponents are trying to get an advisory referendum on the ballot this year that would ask Illinois voters if its constitution should be amended to ban gay marriage. Miller poses as the "Question of the Day" what impact having the referendum on the ballot would have on the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Judy Baar Topinka, who has a pro-gay rights record.

Indiana Equality recently released poll results showing Hoosiers overwhelmingly support civil rights protections for gays and lesbians. The poll numbers released, however, did not include any results on the issue of gay marriage. The organization reportedly chose to withhold those numbers. Sources indicate that the poll found that 27% of the respondents would support gay marriage. It is unclear whether the poll tested public opinion on amending either the Indiana or U.S. Constitutions to ban gay marriage.

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