By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times: Voters also back a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions, a new Times/KTLA survey shows.
By bare majorities, Californians reject the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriages and back a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at the November ballot that would outlaw such unions, a Los Angeles Times/KTLA Poll has found.
But the survey also suggested that the state is moving closer to accepting nontraditional marriages, which could create openings for supporters of same-sex marriage as the campaign unfolds.
More than half of Californians said gay relationships were not morally wrong, that they would not degrade heterosexual marriages and that all that mattered was that a relationship be loving and committed, regardless of gender.
Overall, the proportion of Californians who back either gay marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples has remained fairly constant over the years. But the generational schism is pronounced. Those under 45 were less likely to favor a constitutional amendment than their elders and were more supportive of the court’s decision to overturn the state’s current ban on gay marriage. They also disagreed more strongly than their elders with the notion that gay relationships threatened traditional marriage.
The results of the survey set up an intriguing question for the fall campaign: Will the younger, more live-and-let-live voters mobilized by likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama doom the gay marriage ban? Or will conservatives drawn to the polls by the amendment boost the odds for the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain?
Either way, the poll suggests the outcome of the proposed amendment is far from certain. Overall, it was leading 54% to 35% among registered voters. But because ballot measures on controversial topics often lose support during the course of a campaign, strategists typically want to start out well above the 50% support level.
“Although the amendment to reinstate the ban on same-sex marriage is winning by a small majority, this may not bode well for the measure,” said Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus…. See the Poll Results
Read the full article: Los Angeles Times
I Think that gay marriages should be ok.Let people live their life how they want to.No matter if you are gay or anything.Its just like making your own dicisions.You are so called free then,then yes we should have gay marraiges.Yes i do vote barack obama for president because he is tryig to make a way for our country.He is making better ways for us.Barack is not just trying to make a way he is also going to be the first black president.John Maccain is like anouther one of president bush.Now tell me do you want anouther president like bush? If You do then i do respect you for voting for mccain.But i dont see why you would want to vote for maccain.We need a change in this world.Thats why i want to vote for Barack Obama.If he is selected for president then i would love to see a change but if he isnt vote for president then i will be exspecting the same.