Massachusetts Effectively Split on 'Gay' Marriage, Pollster Says
by Jody Brown
January 12, 2004
(AgapePress) - There appears to be some controversy over the results of a "marriage poll" conducted recently in the State of Massachusetts. The firm that conducted the poll says the pro-family group that contracted for the effort neglected to release the full results of the survey, which it says reveals that the state's residents are pretty much split on the issue of homosexual "marriage."
Last week, the Coalition for Marriage -- a group made up of several in-state and national pro-family organizations -- reported to the media that, according to a poll conducted by Zogby International, a majority of people (52%) in Massachusetts do not want their state to legalize homosexual marriage; 42% favored legalization. The same poll found that almost 70% want the right to vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage. (See Earlier Story)
While those figures were indeed reflected in the poll's findings, a report in the Boston Globe indicates that although the poll consisted of 20 questions, the Coalition only released the "wording and summary" of responses to seven of those questions. Dr. Ron Crews, a spokesman for the Coalition, has acknowledged and apologized for the oversight.
"I misspoke," Crews told the Globe. "I misspoke primarily out of ignorance, but that does not excuse misspeaking." He added that the other questions and responses, which he initially described as demographic in nature, were to be released to the media on Thursday.
Among the findings of the other questions were the following: an almost even split (48% in favor, 49% against) over the statement, "Marriage is such an important institution that it should be defined in our constitution as the union of a man and a woman"; and strong opposition (53% to 36%) to an amendment in the state constitution that effectively bans same-sex unions. In addition, the respondents were almost evenly split (46% to 48%) on whether state lawmakers should prevent the ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court -- in favor of such unions -- from taking effect in May.
The Globe report quotes pollster John Zogby, who says "all of the questions [in a poll] are important" -- and that it is common practice for advocacy groups to release a poll's findings in their entirety for the public to examine. His assessment of this particular poll is that it "reveals where the Massachusetts mind is, which is split."
Other recent polls by USA Today and the New York Times have shown there is strong nationwide opposition to homosexual marriage. But a spokesperson for a Massachusetts group supporting homosexual marriage believes the Zogby poll indicates that the state is "more tolerant and more oriented [than the rest of the nation] toward fairness and equality." That, she maintains, is "something to be very proud of."
