Subject: HRC Survey Questions
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 11:57:40 -0400

TO MICHAEL'S LIST
And Phil Attey, HRCcomm

Here are the actual questions and responses on the HRC survey, from their web
site.
<<http://www.hrcusa.org>>
Their analysis of the is at the bottom and was picked up almost verbatim by
AP articles broadcast to this list earlier.

I think it is most curious that the respondents are twice told  the
questionnaire is about <<local>> issues.  Funny objective for a national
survey.

Too bad they did not ask people if they thought national gay rights groups
out to help Hawaii.  Unfortunately, they will use this survey to further
justify their stinginess on that battle front.

Tim Campbell
Minneapolis
-----------------------

    NATIONAL SURVEY OF 354 GAYS, LESBIANS AND BISEXUALS
            Conducted June 7th - September 2nd, 1996
                     By Lake Research, Inc.
                       SURVEY METHODOLOGY
     These findings are based on questions added to a series of
polls conducted by the ICR Survey Research Group for Lake
Research and the Human Rights Campaign.  These survey were called
by paid, trained and professionally supervised interviewers
between June 7th, 1996 through September 2nd, 1996 and includes
complete responses from 365 self identifying gay, lesbian or
bisexual respondents.  The overall data have been weighted to
ensure that the universe from which the sub-sample of gays and
lesbians were drawn accurately reflects the overall population,
but the sub-sample has not been weighted in any way, as there is
no applicable frame of reference for this population on which to
base such decisions.  The base sample is 354 cases, and the
sample with weights applied is 322 cases.
     
     In interpreting survey results, all sample surveys are
subject to possible sampling error; that is, the results of a
survey may differ from those which would be obtained if the
entire population were interviewed.  The size of the sampling
error depends upon both the total number of respondents in the
survey and the percentage distribution of responses to a
particular question.  For example, on question 14, which all
respondents answered, 52% of those interviewed said they have
never contributed money to any national gay or lesbian
organization.  Therefore, we can be 95% confident that the true
percentage will fall within 5.2% of this percentage, or from
46.8% to 55.2%.  The table below represents the estimated
sampling error for different percentage distributions of
responses.
                   Sampling Error by Percentage
                 (at 95 in 100 confidence level)
PERCENTAGES NEAR
           10    20    30    40    50    60    70    80     90
SAMPLE SIZE
400        2.9   3.9   4.5   4.8   4.9    4.8  4.5   3.9    2.9
350        3.1   4.2   4.8   5.1   5.2    5.1  4.8   4.2    3.1
      
HRC:  96QUE1.314              WEIGHTED FINAL                1-4:
___ ___ ___ ___
September 1996                                                    
        
Hello.  This is (caller name).  I'm calling from
_________________.  I would like to ask 
you a few questions concerning the problems facing our state and
local communities. 
We are not selling anything, and I will
not ask you for a contribution or donation.  Could I please speak
with the
(male/female) in your household, 18 years or
older, who celebrated a birthday most recently? 
1.        Do you know any males that are gay or any females that
are lesbian? [N=
28,282]
             yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
             no. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2          Are you yourself (for males: Gay or bisexual) (for
females: a lesbian or
bisexual).  [N= 354]
             yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
             no. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
          
3         How likely are you to vote in next year's election for
President, U.S. Congress,
and other offices -- are you almost
          certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the
chances about 50-50, are will
you probably not vote?
             almost certain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
             probably. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
             50-50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
             probably not. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
4         In the 1996 election for President, if the candidates
were [ROTATE]
Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican Bob
          Dole for whom would you vote? 
             Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
             Dole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
             (Other) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5         In the 1996 election for President, if the candidates
were [ROTATE]
Democrat Bill Clinton, independent Ross Perot
          and Republican Bob Dole for whom would you vote? 
             Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
             Ross Perot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
             Dole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
             (Other) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6         Now, thinking about the elections for U.S. Congress
that will be held in
November 1996-- if the election for U.S.
          Congress were being held today,  would you be voting
for the [ROTATE]
Republican candidate, or the Democrat
          candidate in your district?
             Republican. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
             Democrat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
             (Other) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . .12      
        
7         Now, I am going to read you a list of concerns that
some people have
mentioned.  When it comes to things here in
          (state), please tell me which one of these you
personally worry about the most:
          [READ AND ROTATE LIST]
          __jobs and the economy . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
          __education  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
          __crime and drugs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
          __health care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
          __government spending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
          __taxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
          __the environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
          __corruption in the government . . . . . . . . . 6
          __declining moral values . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
 
8         Now, thinking about elections for federal offices like
the President, your
Senators, or your member of Congress,
          how important are the candidate's positions on gay
issues in determining your
vote: 
             One of the most important, I will not vote for a
candidate 
                  whose positions do not agree with mine.. . . .
15
             Very important, I will not vote for a candidate 
                         that opposes gay rights . . . . .27
             Somewhat important, I consider many issues, and gay 
                   rights is one of them . . . . . . . . .31
             A little important, I consider gay rights, but many
other 
                  issues come first. . . . . . . . . . . .11
             Not important, other issues always come first for
me. . .11
             (I do not plan to vote) . . . . . . . . . . . 1
             (Refused/Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Now, I'd like to ask you about some public figures.  For each,
please tell me whether
you have a very favorable, somewhat
favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.
If you haven't
heard of the person {6}, or if you don't
know enough about that person to have an impression {5}, just say
so and we will
move on.
[READ FIRST NAME.]  Do you have a very favorable, somewhat
favorable,
somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable
impression of [NAME]?
                                        very      some      some  
   very       no       never
READ FIRST                                fav      fav      
unfav     unfav    opin       heard
__9  Bill Clinton. . . . . . . . . . . . .22       52    15       
8     3         0
ROTATE
__10  Al Gore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19       50    12       
7   11    2
__11  Bob Dole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5       22    34       
32        6     1
__12  Colin Powell . . . . . . . . . . . 25    35        10       
8   16    6
__13  Hillary Clinton. . . . . . . . . . .25       40    16       
13        6     1
14   Have you ever contributed money to any national gay or
lesbian organization?
        Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
        No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
15   Now, I am going to read you some words and phrases that some
people have
used to describe national gay and
     lesbian organizations.  Please tell me how well you think
each describes national
gay and lesbian organizations --
     very well, pretty well, not too well, or not well at all. 
If you don't know how well a
word or phrase describes them,
     just say so and we'll go on.
[READ FIRST ITEM.]  Does that describe national gay and lesbian
organizations
very well, pretty well, not too well, or not
well at all?
                                                   very    pretty 
     not       not       (don't  
ROTATE                                             well      well 
    well    at all          know)          
__16  Represent your political views . . . . . . . . 15        43 
      16        11        16
__17  Represent your views on gay and lesbian issues . . .21      
 41             14         8 
      15
__18  Share your priorities for issues facing the gay and lesbian
                 community . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18        40 
      17         8        17
__19  Effective, get things done . . . . . . . . . . 19        32 
      23         8        19
__20  Effective for gay and lesbians in the political arena. . .
. .19             38        18   
     9        17
__21  Good at communicating with the gay and 
                 lesbian community . . . . . . . . . 22        35 
      17         8        19
Now for a completely different list.  [READ FIRST ITEM.]  Does
that describe gay
and lesbian organizations very well, pretty
well, not too well, or not well at all?
                                              very    pretty      
not       not     don't
ROTATE                                        well      well     
well    at all      know
__22  Too aligned with the Democratic party. . .10        29      
 21        18        22
__23  Too liberal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11        18      
 26        28        17
__24  Involved in too many issues that aren't relevant to 
             the gay and lesbian community . . . 8        19      
 34        22        17
Now I am going to read you a series of issues that affect
lesbians and gay people in
America, and for each one please tell
me how important that issue is for national gay and lesbian
organizations to be
working on -- One of the most important,
very important, somewhat important, only a little important, not
at all important.
[PROMPT AFTER EVERY THIRD: Is that one of the most important,
very
important, somewhat important, only a little
important, not very important.
[ROTATE Q11 TO Q12]                 One of     Very  Smwht 
Little       Not      Don't
                                 Most Impt     Impt   Impt  Impt 
Impt Know
25 Securing a law that protects gay and 
lesbian people from discrimination on 
employment . . . . . . . . . . . . .31    51      8    2       3  
  6
26 Securing the right for gay and 
lesbian people to get married. . . . 13    31    25    8     16   
 6
27 Securing the right for gay and 
lesbian people to adopt children . .13    45    22      6     8   
 6
28 Securing a law that enhances penalties for 
hate crimes against gay and lesbian people . . . 25    50     12  
  3    4   6
29 Secure more funding for AIDS research, prevention
and treatment. . . . . . . . . . . . 31    49    9      3     3   
 5
30 Work to change public opinion about gay and
lesbian people . . . . . . . . . . .24    42    18      4     5   
 6
31 Fight federal and state laws that outlaw 
gay marriage . . . . . . . . . . . .16    35    21      9     12  
  6
Finally, I would like to ask you a few questions for statistical
purposes only.
32   Generally speaking, do you consider yourself very liberal,
somewhat liberal,
moderate, somewhat conservative, or
     very conservative?
        very liberal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
        somewhat liberal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
        moderate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
        somewhat conservative. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
        very conservative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
33   What is your age?   
        18-24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
        25-29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
        30-34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
        35-39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
        40-44. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
        45-49. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
        50-54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
        55-59. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
        60-64. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
        Over 64. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
          (Don't know/ refused). . . . . . . . . . . .1
34   Are you currently involved in a long-term, monogamous
relationship with a
partner?
        Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
        No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
35   Some gay and lesbian people decide not to share information
about their status
with the people they work with. 
     Have you shared the fact that you are (gay/ a lesbian) with
the people at your
place of work?
        Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
        No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
36   Some gay and lesbian people decide not to share information
about their status
with their employers.  Have you
     shared the fact that you are (gay/ a lesbian) with your
employer?
        Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
        No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
37   How about in the 1994 election for U.S. Congress in your
district?  Do you
recall whether you voted for the
     [ROTATE] Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate in
your district?
        Republican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
        Democrat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
        Independent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
        Did not vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
        Ineligible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
        (Refused/Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Strictly for verification purposes, may I have just your first
name?

And your phone number, to make sure it is correctly marked off of
our list?

That completes our public opinion survey.  Thank you very much
for your time and 
cooperation, and have a
pleasant (day/evening).
                DEMOGRAPHICS TAKEN FROM ICR's EXCEL SURVEY
PARTY ID
     Democrat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
     Independent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     Republican. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
       (Other/DK/Ref). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
AGE
     18-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     25-29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     30-34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
     35-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
     40-44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     45-49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
     50-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
     55-59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
     60-64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
     Over 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
       (Don't know/Refused). . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
EDUCATION
     Less than H.S.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
     H.S. graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     Some college  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
     College graduate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     Graduate school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     Technical school  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
YEARLY INCOME
     Less than $10k. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
     $10k-$15k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     $15k-$20k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
     $20k-$25k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     $25k-$30k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     $30k-$40k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     $40k-$50k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     $50k-$75k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     Over $75k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
        (Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
        (Refused). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
MARITAL STATUS
     Single, never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
     Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     Separated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
     Widowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
     Divorced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     Single, live with partner . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     (Refused) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
     Full time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
     Part time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     Not employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
      (refused)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
STATUS OF NON-WORKER
     Retired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
     Homemaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
     Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     Temporarily unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
      (Disabled /Other). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
      (Don't know) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
HOME
     Owned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Rented. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
       (Don't know). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLD
     One                                          29
     Two                                          40
     Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
     Four. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
     Five                                         4
     Six                                           . . .2
     Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
     Eight or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
RACE
     White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
     Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
      (Other). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

--------------------------
HRC'S OWN ANALYSIS OF THE DATA:

A Survey Of 354 Gays,
Lesbians and Bisexuals
Conducted June 7th -
September 2nd, 1996
By Lake Research, Inc.

Survey Methodology
These findings are based on questions added to a series of polls conducted by
the ICR Survey
Research Group for Lake Research and the Human Rights Campaign. Those
surveyed were
called by paid, trained and professionally supervised interviewers between
June 7th, 1996
through September 2nd, 1996 and includes complete responses from 354 self
identifying gay,
lesbian or bisexual respondents. The overall data have been weighted to
ensure that the universe
from which the sub-sample of gays and lesbians were drawn accurately reflects
the overall
population, but the sub-sample has not been weighted in any way, as there is
no applicable frame
of reference for this population on which to base such decisions. The base
sample is 354 cases,
and the sample with weights applied is 322 cases.
In interpreting survey results, all sample surveys are subject to possible
sampling error; that is, the
results of a survey may differ from those that would be obtained if the
entire population were
interviewed. The size of the sampling error depends upon both the total
number of respondents in
the survey and the percentage distribution of responses to a particular
question. For example, on
question 19, which all respondents answered, 52% of those interviewed said
they have never
contributed money to any national gay or lesbian organization. Therefore, we
can be 95%
confident that the true percentage will fall within 5.2% of this percentage,
or from 46.8% to
55.2%. The table below represents the estimated sampling error for different
percentage
distributions of responses.
Sampling Error by Percentage (at 95 in 100 confidence level)
PERCENTAGES
NEAR 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
SAMPLE SIZE
400 2.9 3.9 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.5 3.9 2.9
350 3.1 4.2 4.8 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.2 3.1

Summary

Two-thirds of gays and lesbians are almost certain to vote this November.

Bill Clinton has a commanding lead in the race for President in both a
two-way or a
three-way scenario. Bob Dole is in a statistical tie with Ross Perot in a
three-way.

In 1994, a majority of gays and lesbians say they voted for Democratic
candidates. In
1996, more than six-in-ten say they will vote for the Democrat in their
district. The
Republican Congress gets more gay and lesbian votes than Bob Dole.

Gays and lesbians are most concerned about crime and drugs, with Jobs and the
economy, education and health care also important.

Bill Clinton and Al Gore are viewed most favorably overall, while two-thirds
feel
unfavorably toward Bob Dole.

Gay and lesbian organizations are seen as best at communicating within the
community,
and representing their views.

Gay and lesbians want organizations that represent them to concentrate on
employment
discrimination, AIDS, their personal safety and changing public opinion.
Marriage is less
important.

Two-thirds of gays and lesbians
are almost certain to vote this
November.
How likely are you to vote in next year's election for President, U.S.
Congress, and other offices
-- are you almost certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the chances
about 50-50, or will
you probably not vote?

Bill Clinton has a commanding lead in the race
for President in both a two-way or a three-way
scenario. Bob Dole is in a statistical tie with
Ross Perot in a three way.

Democrats are solidly behind Bill Clinton in either
scenario. In a 3-way race, more independents
support Dole than Republicans, and Perot receives
just over half of Republican support.*

*The sample size among Republicans is very small, and should be cited with
caution (38 cases).

Bill Clinton and Al Gore are viewed
most favorably overall, while
two-thirds feel unfavorably toward
Bob Dole.
Now, I'd like to ask you about some public figures. For each, please tell me
whether you have a
very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable
impression. If
you haven't heard of the person, or if you don't know enough about that
person to have an
impression, just say so and we will move on.

In 1994, a majority of gays and lesbians say
they voted for Democratic candidates. In
1996, more than six-in-ten say they will vote for
the Democrat in their district.

Gays and lesbians are most concerned
about crime and drugs, with jobs and
the economy, education and health care
also important.

A plurality say that a candidate's
position on gay rights determines
how they will vote.
Now, thinking about elections for federal offices like the President, your
Senators, or your
member of Congress, how important are the candidate's positions on gay issues
in determining
your vote:

A candidate's position on gay
rights is more important to
younger gays and lesbians.
Now, thinking about elections for federal offices like the President, your
Senators, or your
member of Congress, how important are the candidate's positions on gay issues
in determining
your vote:

Gay and lesbians want organizations
that represent them to concentrate on
discrimination, AIDS, their personal
safety and changing public opinion.
Now I am going to read you a series of issues that affect lesbians and gay
people in America, and
for each one please tell me how important that issue is for national gay and
lesbian organizations
to be working on -- One of the most important, very important, somewhat
important, only a little
important, not at all important.

Men want gay and lesbian organizations to work on
AIDS
and job discrimination most, while women
want them to focus on hate crimes, job
discrimination and are much more interested in
adoption and marriage.
Now I am going to read you a series of issues that affect lesbians and gay
people in America, and
for each one please tell me how important that issue is for national gay and
lesbian organizations
to be working on -- One of the most important, very important, somewhat
important, only a little
important, not at all important.

Younger gays and lesbians have stronger opinions
about what organizations should be working on
overall. Older gays and lesbians want the focus on
AIDS, hate crimes, job discrimination, and changing
public opinion.
Now I am going to read you a series of issues that affect lesbians and gay
people in America, and
for each one please tell me how important that issue is for national gay and
lesbian organizations
to be working on -- One of the most important, very important, somewhat
important, only a little
important, not at all important.

Gay and lesbian organizations are seen
as best at communicating within the
community, and representing their
views.
Now, I am going to read you some words and phrases that some people have used
to describe
national gay and lesbian organizations. Please tell me how well you think
each describes national
gay and lesbian organizations -- very well, pretty well, not too well, or not
well at all. If you don't
know how well a word or phrase describes them, just say so and we'll go on.

While less than a majority agrees, some
believe that gay and lesbian organizations
are too aligned with the Democrats.
Now, I am going to read you some words and phrases that some people have used
to describe
national gay and lesbian organizations. Please tell me how well you think
each describes national
gay and lesbian organizations -- very well, pretty well, not too well, or not
well at all. If you don't
know how well a word or phrase describes them, just say so and we'll go on.

THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
http://www.hrcusa.org