Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyAugust 29th, 2008
Supporters of marriage equality got some good news last night when the results of the latest statewide poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California were released.
The telephone survey of 2,001 California adults, including 1,047 likely voters, reveals that Proposition 8 – the proposed constitutional amendment to bar same-sex couples from marrying — is losing badly. Among likely voters, only 40% plan to vote for the amendment, compared to 54% who say they will vote against it. The remaining 6% are undecided. (The margin of error is +/- 3 percent.)
Opposition to Prop. 8 doesn’t come exclusively from those who say they generally favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry. The sample was evenly split on that question - 47% of likely voters favoring marriage equality and 47% opposing it. Thus, consistent with other polls, some respondents who don’t personally support marriage equality nevertheless oppose enacting anti-equality legislation. Indeed, Prop. 8 is supported by only 69% of the likely voters who generally oppose allowing same-sex couples to marry.
Prop. 8 backers tried to find a ray of hope in the PPIC data, noting that amendment supporters were more likely to say the outcome of the vote is “very important” to them - 57% versus 44% of amendment opponents.
In my latest post at Beyond Homophobia, I explain why the math behind this claim is flawed. I also discuss the poll findings in depth and consider their implications for the Proposition 8 campaign.
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tristram
August 29th, 2008
I advocate activism over optimism (however cautious). The article below from IGF presents an excellent analysis of the situation. We can’t afford to waste a moment or spare a dollar in this fight.
http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31593.html
Steve Krotz
August 31st, 2008
I’m very upset that our fight against Prop 102 here is being virtually ignored while millions are pouring into California and Florida. Yes, CA’s Prop 8 is a MUST WIN battle but it shouldn’t be to the exclusion of our effort here.
Over the weekend The Advocate ran a poll question that basically pitted us against them. I was so upset at that and several of the comments that followed it that I wrote a letter to The Advocate explaining why our fight here is so important. And why IT IS A WINNABLE FIGHT!
I’m making that letter and a few other comments my lead posting on my own blog tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. Please check it out, I’d like to know what you think.
It’ll be at http://desertspeak.blogspot.com/
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