Subject: MICHIGAN POLL SHOWS PUBLIC DISLIKE OF ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 12:13:29 -0400

TO:  National Freedom to Marry Coalition Members, State Partners, and Allies

FROM:  Evan Wolfson, Director, The Marriage Project

DATE:  April 16, 1996

RE:  Polls on Our Freedom to Marry and the Backlash Efforts

     Once again we have a poll showing that, even though the majority of
those surveyed may not yet be with us on our equal marriage rights, there is
considerable public dislike for the anti-gay, anti-marriage legislative
backlash pushed by the religious-political extremists.  (The other poll
showing this resistance to the backlash was the New Hampshire polling data
from HRC).

Thanks to Jeff Montgomery of Michigan's Triangle Foundation for sharing the
following useful information:

On April 12, 1996, Marketing Resource Group, a Lansing-based, generally
conservative, polling firm released results of a poll on the anti-marriage
bills.

The question:  "Do you (ROTATE favor/oppose) a ban on same-sex marriages in
the state of Michigan?  (If favor/oppose, ask: would you say that your
strongly
favor/oppose this ban, or just somewhat favor/oppose)?

The results: 

Strongly favor:     39%
Somewhat favor:   7%
Neither favor/oppose:   4%
Somewhat oppose:  14%
Strongly oppose:   26%
Neutral/refused to answer/don't know:   12%

Total favor:  46%
Total oppose:  40%

Margin of error is +/- 4.1%

Michigan activists think this is very helpful.  Within the margin of error,
the question
comes out statistically even.  A full 16% of those asked really don't yet
express an
opinion and could be influenced.  Only about a quarter of voters are strongly
opposed to same-gender marriage.

In any case this shows that there is no clear mandate from any segment of the
state to go ahead with the anti-marriage preemptive legislation.  While the
strongest area of support for the pro-equality position came from the
metro-Detroit area (not a surprise),  the other area with the greatest
support for fequal marriage rights was the Upper Peninsula ( a huge
surprise!).

One additional observation:

     Some are troubled by the (to me, unsurprising) fact that general polls
continue to show that only 1/3 of the public as yet supports our equal
marriage rights, while
1/3 remain adamantly hostile and the remaining 1/3 are not yet with us. 
     Three points: First, even as we have just begun our necessary work of
reaching out to non-gay people and leaders (in a way we have never really
done before), 1/3 are already with us!  
     Second, the polls before and since the Supreme Court struck down the
analogous discrimination on interracial marriage in 1967 showed similar
public opposition; this is why the Constitution does not put individual
rights solely at the mercy of the tyranny of the majority, or put fundamental
rights (such as marriage or equal protection) up for a vote or poll.  Courts
have their role to play, notwithstanding the polls.      Third, we have only
just BEGUN this critical work of reaching out and engaging non-gay Americans
on a subject most of them have never had to think about before: lesbian and
gay people, and marriage, in the same sentence.  While changes in attitudes
can take a long time (even today, polls show that 1/5 of Americans still
believe interracial marriage should be illegal!), we can reach out to
fair-minded people and help them move past the scare tactics and stereotypes
thrust in their face by our religious-political extremist enemies.  

Evan Wolfson
Director
The Marriage Project
Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund
666 Broadway, 12th Floor
NY, NY 10012
212-995-8585-voice
212-995-2306-fax

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