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CNN Poll: Americans' attitudes toward gay community
changing
by CNN Political Unit
June 6, 2012
Washington (CNN) - A majority
of Americans say they support legally recognizing same-sex marriage amid
growing evidence that the public's become more comfortable with gays and
lesbians, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/ORC International survey released Wednesday also indicates that the number
of Americans who say they have a close friend or family member who is gay has
jumped from 49% in 2010 to 60% today, the first time in CNN polling that a
majority of Americans have said that. In the 1990s, most Americans said they
did not know anyone close to them who was gay.
See
full results (PDF)
"Attitudes toward sexual orientation have also changed over that same time period," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In 1998, a majority believed that someone who is gay or lesbian could change their sexual orientation if they choose to do so. Today, only a third feel that way, and the number who say that gays and lesbians cannot change their orientation is almost six in ten. Those shifts probably explain the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage."
"Attitudes toward sexual orientation have also changed over that same time period," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In 1998, a majority believed that someone who is gay or lesbian could change their sexual orientation if they choose to do so. Today, only a third feel that way, and the number who say that gays and lesbians cannot change their orientation is almost six in ten. Those shifts probably explain the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage."
According to the survey, 54%
now say that marriages between gay and lesbian couples should be recognized as
valid by law, with 42% opposed. Sentiment is strong on both sides of the
debate, with more than three-quarters of supporters and opponents of same-sex
marriage saying that they feel strongly about that issue.
The poll indicates a partisan
divide, with seven in ten Democrats as well as six in ten independent voters
saying same-sex marriages should be recognized by the law as valid, and 72% of
Republicans opposed. The survey also indicates a generational divide, with
nearly two-thirds of those under 50 in favor of legal same sex marriages and
55% of those 50 and older opposed.
The poll's release comes one
day after a federal appeals court in San Francisco refused to revisit the issue of same-sex marriage,
months after judges gave gay and lesbian couples the constitutional blessing to
wed in the state, by ruling California's
Proposition 8 unconstitutional. A stay on same-sex marriages in California remains in
place until the issue is exhausted in the courts. Supporters of Proposition 8
vow to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The CNN poll was conducted by
ORC International from May 29-31, with 1,009 adults nationwide were questioned
by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three
percentage points, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points
for registered voters.
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