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Two NC polls show more support for same-sex couples (video)

Post on March 4, 2011 by 5 Comments »

New numbers from Public Policy Polling indicate a majority of North Carolinians support some form of legal recognition for gay couples. 28% favor civil unions and 24% want full marriage rights for same sex relationships, compared to just 46% who think there should be no legal recognition. PPP Poll director Tom Jensen writes on his blog:

“The age breakdown on these numbers makes it clear that public opinion will continue to move steadily in support of greater rights for gay couples.”

The PPP poll numbers also back-up the findings of an Elon University Poll released earlier this week.

According to the Elon poll, more than half of North Carolina residents now support legal recognition of same-sex couples, and more than one-quarter believe they should have full marriage rights. Only 35 percent of respondents opposed all legal recognition for same-sex partners, down from 44 percent when the question was asked two years ago.

Elon University Poll Director Hunter Bacot says not only has opposition to recognition for same-sex couples cooled, a majority of North Carolinians (55% vs. 37%) would reject amending the state’s constitution to ban same sex marriage. Bacot appears this weekend on News & Views to discuss their findings on this and many other issues. For a preview of Bacot’s radio interview with Chris Fitzsimon, click below:
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Comments (Closed):5

  1. Jeff Shaw
    March 4, 2011 at 11:07 am

    What’s interesting about the PPP poll is that Independent voters support gay marriage at an even greater rate than registered Dems do.

    This is a broad cultural shift that’s been a long time coming, and I think folks who try to marginalize and demonize gay people will do so increasingly at their peril in the future.

  2. HunterC
    March 4, 2011 at 11:48 am

    So, who’s filing a civil unions bill in the legislature?

    Illinois and Hawaii just passed civil unions with no trouble.

    Let’s at least have that small measure of equality here in NC.

  4. Steve
    March 4, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    This is just a bunch of huey. The PPP poll actually contradicts the Elon Poll. Two years ago, the Elon Poll came up with about the same percentage (44%) who opposed all legal recognition and this shift was heralded as some major things.

    Let me spell it out for you folks. In the PPP poll, 74% oppose full-blown gay marriage, while in the Elon poll, 64% oppose full-blown gay marriage. But here’s a new wrench to throw into the works: A Civitas Poll from December directly contradicts the Elon Poll because it finds that 65% of North Carolinians favor amending their state constitution to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman (compared to just 32% who oppose).

  5. HunterC
    March 4, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    Civitas Polling is a bunch of hooey. Civitas “predicted” Rick Glazier would lose by 10% just days before the election. Rep. Glazier is still in the NC House.

    PPP is one of the few polling outfits to correctly call the close marriage loss in Maine. Their record on polling LGBT issues is not in doubt.

    And just to spell it out, the current proposed amendment (Senate Bill 106) is anti-marriage equality, anti-civil union, and anti-private benefits.

    It’s pretty clear that North Carolinians think such an extreme bill is… extreme.

    The trends from the Elon poll, the PPP poll, and historical polls all indicate where opinion is moving. It’s March 2011. Who knows what it will be like in November 2012?