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 lobbyJune 4th, 2010
Des Moines television station KCCI has conducted a poll of Iowans asking the following question:
Now that more than a year has gone by since the Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, do you favor or oppose marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Favor – 53%
Oppose – 41%
Not Sure – 6%
I don’t know the sampling, the methodology, or margin or error. And the wording likely led to skewing the results towards the positive.
But, nevertheless, this is very very good news. And as one of the few recent polls on the issue, it deflects much of the credibility of anti-gay activists who claim that “the people” oppose equality.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
David Foreman
June 4th, 2010
It is good news, but it’s not the final answer. I used to think majority rule was a good idea. And it is…unless you’re in the minority. The majority has often been against any civil rights action. I hate to over-rule the “peoples” wishes, but in some cases, like marriage equality, I don’t really think the polls should matter. If it’s right, it’s right.
Jason D
June 4th, 2010
David,
While I agree with your points, I don’t think that’s what Timothy was up to.
This shows something we see again and again and again. Imaginary Gay Boogeymen are scary, and people fear and want to stop them at all costs. Change is scary, most people vote for things as they are. Better the devil you know, and so forth.
Yet when people actually have to live with equality, they don’t much mind it. In fact, once they see that all the fears are baseless, they support it.
Massachusetts just celebrated 6 Years of Marriage Equality. It STILL sports the lowest divorce rate in the country.
AND not one church has been forced to perform a gay wedding against their will, nor has any pastor or clergy been arrested, sued, or thrown in jail for speaking out against homosexuality.
Burr
June 4th, 2010
The fact that any general poll, regardless of how accurate it may ultimately be, shows a majority in favor of equality (and heck even if it was a really close split against it), undermines the insane argument that the court decision was an example of some kind of tyranny invoked against society at large by a fringe group. The supposed clamor against this theoretical out of control activism is completely manufactured. People are dealing with it just fine and coming to terms with it.
Eddie89
June 4th, 2010
Happy one year equal wedding anniversary Iowa!!!
David Foreman
June 4th, 2010
Jason, I wasn’t trying to undermine Mr. Kincaid’s point. I agree with him. I was trying to add to, rather than take away from what he was saying.
I’ve said before, marriage equality WILL be the law of the land. Hopefully sooner than later.
Ryan
June 4th, 2010
Nice poll, but I find it a little difficult to believe. I’d like to see more polling from different pollsters before I got my hopes up.
Derrick
June 5th, 2010
I am not buying it. Using the good rule of thumb that SSM support goes up on average 1 percent per year and opposition goes down on average one percent per year,I would guess that Iowa would be opposed 58-42.
The one big variable is that Iowa has actually had SSM for a year. Might that accelerate acceptance? That seems reasonable.
The past year certainly exposed as lies all of the claims about “consequences” for public education and religious liberty. One year on and as far as I know, there has not been a single complaint in the entire state about public school indoctrination. Ditto for NH, CT, and VT. Indeed, as far as I am aware, the sole complaintants in the entire country remain the Parkers and the Wirthlins of MA. I expect that they will be flown out to CA in 2012 to continue their traveling road show.
T.J.
June 5th, 2010
It’s hopeful, but if you watch the video on their website, one of the newscasters makes a reference to what “central Iowans believe” which could mean that the poll was not statewide. It would not be surprising if this was only of central Iowans because support would be higher near Des Moines. It’s probably significant because you would need a +/- of greater than 6 for it not to be. Hopefully, minds are changing as they realize that the legalization of same-sex marriage didn’t initiate the apocalypse.
Ian
June 5th, 2010
If this poll were true, that would make same-sex marriage more popular in Iowa than it is in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and California.
Needless to say, I hope this prompts other polls to be taken in the state of Iowa.
Donnchadh
June 5th, 2010
It will help the quality of debate a lot if the opponents of same-sex marriage have to abandon the populist argument. It leads to the debate focusing on political means rather than ends. Maybe they could learn from the other side and win a few court cases. More likely they will fade into the fringes, and I will finally be able to cheer them on. I love lost causes, but only when they are truly lost.
Leave A Comment