Joe.My.God. LGBT News
A new Siena Research Institute poll (PDF) shows that for the first time, a majority of New Yorkers support marriage equality. Suck it, Sen. Diaz!
By a 53-39 percent margin, voters support the Senate passing a bill to legalize same sex marriages that would virtually ensure its becoming law. Democrats, independent and young voters, and women strongly support Senate passage. Republicans strongly oppose passage, with men, older voters, African Americans, and Protestants also opposed. Support is strongest in New York City. Every region of the state supports passage. “By a fairly significant margin, voters would like to see New York join with Vermont, Massachusetts, Iowa, and other states in allowing same sex couples to marry here,” Greenberg said. “For women and young voters it‟s a resounding “yes.‟ Men and older voters are more closely divided and more likely to say “no.” ”
The poll also shows that while New Yorkers support Gov. Paterson’s marriage equality bill, his personal approval rating is at an all-time low of 18%.
Empire State Pride Agenda reacts:
Not only are a majority in favor of legalizing marriage for our families, these new numbers establish a clear trend of increasing support, year after year, every time Siena asks about this issue. In the past three years, Siena polling has shown support for marriage equality growing from 43% in 2007 to 46% last year to 53% this year and opposition dropping from 47% in 2007 to 40% last year to just 39% now.
Clearly, New Yorkers are choosing equality for our families. As they continue to talk about this issue around their kitchen tables, they are realizing the magnitude of the harm to families who are denied access to the more than one thousand rights and responsibilities that New York provides with a civil marriage license. They are deciding that their gay and lesbian friends, co-workers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles deserve what they already have and need to keep their families strong.
It’s time for State Senators who still aren’t with us to look at these results and ask themselves this simple question: Do I want to be on the right side of history or the wrong side of history when the story is written about how marriage equality came to New York State? I think many will want to be on the right side and will want to look back and say, ‘I did the right thing for my constituents and for the people of New York. I stood up for equality.’”