Subject: Poll Finds No Consensus on Defense of Marriage Act
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 09:37:07 -0400

________________________________________________________

NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  [email-masked]
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 5, 1996
                                
  POLL FINDS NO CONSENSUS ON  DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT  
                  Americans Think Measure Should Not Be a Priority

 COMPLETE POLL AVAILABLE ON HRC'S ONLINE ACTION CENTER
                                          http://www.hrcusa.org

WASHINGTON -- There is no clear consensus  among Americans on the
so-called Defense of Marriage Act, according to a poll conducted
for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and
lesbian political organization. The survey also found Americans 
overwhelmingly believe this issue should not be a legislative
priority, and that it will not be a litmus test for candidates.

     According to the national poll of 1,022 Americans conducted
between May 31 and June 2 by The Mellman Group,  37 percent of
Americans support the bill "defining marriage as only between
men and women for the purposes of federal law," while 29 percent
said they oppose it.

     This lack of agreement was confirmed in another line of
questioning. A total of 39 percent of those polled said they
think this legislation is unnecessary, while 31 percent termed it
necessary; a full 30 percent said they were not sure of the
importance of such a law.

     "There is no consensus among Americans on the Defense of
Marriage Act," said David M. Smith, communications  director of
the Human Rights Campaign. "These results indicate the Republican
strategy of using the gay marriage issue as a political strategy
is failing to gain traction with voters and has the potential to
backfire."

     While opinion on this bill remains muddled, an overwhelming
majority of those surveyed agreed there are more pressing issues
facing Congress than attempting to outlaw same-sex marriage.

Only 13 percent said that "passing this law should be an
important priority." A total of 73 percent said "there are lots
of other issues" that are much more important than creating a
federal statute to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

     Further, this legislation is more likely to be viewed as
apolitical ploy than as an attempt to strengthen the American
family. More Americans (32 percent) accept the view that "this
law is just an attempt to play politics, scapegoat gays and
embarrass supporters of civil rights for gays, and is not really
very important" than adhere to the view that "gay marriage is a
real threat to the American family and it is important to pass
the law" (27 percent). Only 27 percent said they believe gay
marriage is a threat to the family; 41 percent would not even
venture a guess.

     This issue will not be a litmus test for candidates in
November, according to the poll. Only 17 percent said a
candidate's vote against the Defense of marriage Act would be a
"very convincing" reason to vote against that person. By
contrast, 54 percent said a candidate's vote to cut Medicare
would be a "very convincing" reason to vote against that
individual.

     Another indication of the low political resonance of this
issue: Only 10 percent of those polled said they would be very
likely to vote against a candidate with whom they otherwise
agreed if he or she opposed this law. Six percent said they would
be very likely to oppose a candidate with whom they otherwise
agreed if that candidate supported the Defense of Marriage Act.

     The bill was introduced last month in both the House and the
Senate. One of its primary co-sponsors is Senate Majority Leader
Bob Dole, the certain Republican nominee for president.

     "It is sad that after a distinguished 35-year career in
Congress, Senator Bob Dole will end his Senate career with a bill
that is nothing more than cheap election-year gay-bashing," Smith
said.

"Doesn't Congress have anything better to do?"

     The poll results are based on a national survey of 1,022
adults interviewed by telephone between May 31 and June 2. The
study is based on a random-digit dialing probability sample of
all telephone households in the continental United States, which
ensures that every telephone household had an equal chance of
participating in the survey. The margin of error for the sample
as a whole is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent
confidence level. The margin of error for subgroups varies
and may be larger.

     The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian
and gay political organization, with members throughout the
country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign
support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay
Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in
the community.

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