national
New Jerseyans favor same-sex marriage
Poll marks six-month anniversary of state’s civil unions law
Published Thursday, 23-Aug-2007 in issue 1026
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Twice as many New Jerseyans “would be fine” with allowing same-sex couples to marry as would be upset if lawmakers enacted a marriage equality law, according to a new poll.
The Zogby survey of 803 New Jersey voters was commissioned by the gay rights group Garden State Equality to mark the six-month anniversary of New Jersey’s civil unions law on Sunday.
Same sex couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples on Feb. 19 when New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions. Gay rights activists have continued to press for full marriage equality, saying civil unions do not satisfy a state Supreme Court ruling that entitles same-sex couples to the same benefits as married couples.
The poll, released Aug. 15, showed 63 percent of voters surveyed said they would not be upset if the Legislature upgraded civil unions to marriage equality, compared with 31 percent who would be upset.
And some 72 percent said lawmakers would not jeopardize their re-election bids by enacting marriage equality, compared with 21 percent who felt such a vote could affect an incumbent’s chances of remaining in the Legislature.
Regardless of their personal beliefs, those polled believe New Jersey will allow same-sex couples to marry within a couple of years, by a margin of 61 percent to 29 percent.
“Regardless of whether any public official supports marriage equality or wants to maintain the state’s failed civil unions law, no official in New Jersey can credibly say that marriage for gay couples is a divisive issue in the state,” said Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality.
“Even voters who oppose marriage equality are ready to accept an upgrade of the state’s civil unions law to real marriage equality,” he said.
The poll was conducted from Aug. 8-10 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. Though Garden State Equality commissioned the poll, Zogby collected the data independently.
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