Support for
constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage is weak
in three of the eight states that will vote on them this
November, and in one--Colorado--a
competing measure to establish domestic partnerships for
same-sex couples is currently backed by a majority of
voters. The growing sense that key victories will be
had this Election Day is in stark contrast to 2004,
when constitutional bans on same-sex marriage were
approved in 13 states, USA Today reports.
"It could be a watershed year," Carrie Evans,
state legislative director at the gay lobby group
Human Rights Campaign, told the paper. Indeed, defeat
of even one of the proposed marriage bans would be a major
triumph, since all 19 state measures that have been voted on
to date were overwhelmingly approved, with support
averaging 70%.
This year, however, opposition to such a measure
in Arizona is currently at 51%, with only 38% of
voters supporting it, according to a recent poll,
while the proposed marriage ban in South Dakota is opposed
by 49% of voters, with 41% in support. In Colorado,
which has ballot measures both to ban same-sex
marriage and to create domestic partnerships, a recent
poll showed that only 52% of voters are in favor of the
former but that 58% favored the latter.
Pollsters attribute the erosion of support for
marriage bans to better-orchestrated opposition
campaigns as well as ever-increasing acceptance of gay
people. (The Advocate)
