Posted on 05/28/2008 7:50:55 AM PDT by SmithL
In a dramatic reversal of decades of public opinion, California voters agree by a slim majority that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, according to a Field Poll released today.
By 51-42 percent, registered voters said they believed same-sex marriage should be legal in California. Only 28 percent favored gay marriage in 1977, when the Field Poll first asked that question, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director.
"This is a milestone in California," he said. "You can't downplay the importance of a change in an issue we've been tracking for 30 years."
While opposition to same-sex marriage has been weakening for years in California, supporters have remained a minority. In March 2000, for example, voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition 22, a statute that said the state would recognize only the marriage of a man and a woman. A 2006 Field Poll showed that half the state's voters still disapproved of same-sex marriage.
But the state Supreme Court's decision this month to overturn Prop. 22 might have turned the tide, DiCamillo said.
"There's a certain validation when the state Supreme Court makes a ruling that you can't discriminate when it comes to marriage," he said. "That may have been enough to move some people who were on the fence about same-sex marriage."
Younger voters and those living in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and other Democratic urban strongholds were the most supportive of same-sex marriage, the poll found, while older voters and those living in the more conservative inland areas were more opposed.
The poll also provided a boost for groups planning to battle a measure to ban same-sex marriage that is expected to go on the ballot in November as a constitutional amendment. By 51-43 percent, registered voters oppose changing the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, according to the poll.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The media has successfully portrayed him as the next messiah, and made him wholly electable in the eye of a plurality of Americans... and again, Bush and Cheney, and the GOP leadership, including McCain, allow this to continue.
There's NO better example, IMHO, of how far we've fallen, and how disgustingly powerful the MSM is.
All typos are deliberate in that last post.
A whole lot’s changed in the past 8 years... Different times
I love this absolute crap....First California says with an ELECTION in which MILLIONS vote that they are AGAINST Gay Marriage then a simple sample poll of a few thousand comes along and magically nullifie it.
RIGHT!!!!!!
In truth I think more than half the Democrats are scared s—tless by the thought of Obama becoming President. They can get their liberal heads around Hillary, but Barack even scares them to death.
I guarantee you, if Barack becomes President, you’ll see a landslide mid-term Republican victory like you’ve never seen before.
If he is elected, it’s up to us to organize and simply take the Republican party away from the idiots, get us back on track and get the nomination process squared away so that 2012 sees us crush the Democrats once and for all.
That’s overly optimistic, but it’s what we need to be thinking IMO.
I love this absolute crap....First California says with an ELECTION in which MILLIONS vote that they are AGAINST Gay Marriage then a simple sample poll of a few thousand comes along and magically nullifies it.
RIGHT!!!!!!
I’m not sure what initiative you are addressing.
See, with Hillary, we could have challenged her at every term... With bHo, he's in there for 8 years... It'll take decades to undo the damage he'll do while in there.
I want more info on the polster’s record, sampling methods, wording of questions and background of poll takers. It makes a BIG difference if the polling agency and the workers are predominately gay. Polling in San Fransico and other gay enclaves would not be representative of California voters.
This poll has all the earmarks of propoganda.
You touched on the major part of the problem IMO. We failed to clearly differentiate ourselves from the Democrats. We contributed to the gray area that has become the political reality.
We saw a good portion of our numbers excuse away every liberal thing our side did, and not complain when our side didn’t simply stand up to the liberals on the other side.
It’s that dynamic that scares the crap out of me with McCain. Think how much more pale gray we will be by then end of his term in office. And then imagine us trying to sell our core values as if they were different.
If it’s hard now, imagine what it would be like then. It would almost certainly set up another situation similar to what we have now, only measurably worse.
We have to push our values in public, or our values die.
It has been twenty four years since Reagan last sold Conservative values on the national stage. And if you consider that 16 year olds down probably wouldn’t remember it, we’re looking at adults today who are 40 years old who haven’t seen a Conservative sales pitch in their lives (that they would remember).
That’s why it’s vitally important that we tell the party to shove McCain, and then get to work.
I’d like to think I’m a political sage. You probably would like to think you are as well. We’re both trying to make heads or tails on this issue, and we’re having a hard time doing it. I understand where you are coming from. We’re both trying to give it our best guess. I do think the post before this one made some pretty good sense, but if you can’t see it, I’m not going to fault you for it.
What I’m telling you make sense to me. That’s all I can tell you.
I think you’ve got a point about the media. I just know that McCain not being in charge of our party, that leaves the aparatus free to be molded, and a Republican party desparate for our support.
If McCain wins, they don’t need us anymore than they need a spare arse.
College educated, idiots........
Unfortunately.
Well, interestingly enough, the person in my family has found themselves unable to support any of the three candidates this year, but will probably opt for McCain.
While that doesn’t please me, at least they are thinking and not following blindly. They actually can see that Hillary and Obama are dangerous.
Mine will vote straight Democrat...I'm fairly sure.
They are Marxist/Socialist/Leftists....to the core.
I recall them voting homosexual marriage down in 2000. Prop22 it was.....61.4% voted that marriage will be man-woman.
I have actually been working on mine. What I tried to do was appeal to them on issues where we would have unsuspected common ground. Issues of parenting, crime, illegal immigration and a few other areas. After a while they realized that we had more in common that they thought. And they were able to see that their side’s answers didn’t computer.
I honestly think that more often than not, some folks are fuzzy about what side of the spectrum their beliefs actually reside in.
Remember when Limbaugh used to challenge folks about whether they were liberals or conservatives. A lot of folks were surprised to find that their views on a number of subjects were conservative.
His test he used to give was a very powerful tool.
Still, it’s a long process and I’m by no means convinced you reach everyone.
Good luck to you. I’m sure it drives you as crazy as it does me.
Thanks for sharing your views, very insightful
This is by a POLL, not an actual ballot result.
The majority of California voters have REJECTED same sex unions being elevated to being a marriage. There is a civil union statute that provides every equivalent protection, including the right to dissolution of the union, as a civil proceeding.
And how long are these “civil unions” going to hold up when Shar’ia law is adopted in California?
Guard your soft underbelly. It will be your downfall. The REAL enemy out there will not be so easy to negotiate with. They WILL go for your vulnerabilities without mercy.
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