By a substantial margin, Catholics in Virginia support gay marriage – by 56 percent to 40 percent, That’s from a new poll of the state, by Quinnipiac:
Quinnipiac Poll: Gay Marriage and Virginians
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Fifty percent of registered Virginia voters support same-sex marriage compared to 43 percent who don’t, with a clear majority of women approving it, a new poll has found.
The Connecticut-based university interviewed 1,030 registered Virginia voters from July 11-15. The poll’s results, released Thursday morning, have a margin of sampling error that is plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points.
The contentious issue of gay marriage becomes more relevant in Virginia after last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in two cases. The court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied tax, health and pension benefits to single-gender couples. The high court also upheld a lower court decision voiding California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. That puts the determination of whether to allow same-sex couples to marry in 50 state capitals, not Washington.
In the 2006 general election, an amendment to the state Constitution that bans gay marriage in Virginia passed 57 percent to 43 percent. Since the Supreme Court rulings, gay rights organizations such as Equality Virginia have begun preparing long-term efforts aimed at eventually repealing the amendment.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia now allow same-sex marriage.
The Quinnipiac poll found substantial age, gender, ethnic, educational, religious and political divides in the emotionally charged debate.
Catholics favored gay marriage 56 percent to 40 percent, while Protestants opposed it 57 percent to 36 percent. Among those who identified themselves as born-again evangelicals, 74 percent opposed it.
– more at WJLA.com.
Related articles
- Quinnipiac Poll: Gay Marriage and Virginians (wjla.com)
- Quinnipiac poll: Virginians favor same-sex unions (kansascity.com)
- Poll Shows More Virginians Support Gay Marriage (newsplex.com)
- Virginians In Favor of Same-Sex Marriage Poll Finds (washington.cbslocal.com)
