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Poll finds 46 percent against legalizing same-sex matrimony
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL/8NEWSNOW
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©2010 LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Opposition to legalizing gay marriage in Nevada appears to have thawed somewhat in the years since voters approved a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
A 2002 poll showed 60 percent of Nevadans supported a ban on gay marriage and 36 percent opposed the ban. Also that year, two-thirds of Nevadans approved the Protection of Marriage constitutional amendment.
But a new poll, commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal/8NewsNow and conducted after a federal judge struck down California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages, shows 46 percent of Nevadans now oppose legalizing gay marriage in the state. Thirty-five percent said they support legalizing gay marriage, and 19 percent were undecided.
The telephone poll of 625 registered Nevada voters was conducted Monday through Wednesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
While opposition still outweighs support for legalizing gay marriage, Candice Nichols, executive director of The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, took the poll results as a positive sign.
"We're seeing the climate changing," she said. "It's going to take time, but there's been a shift and it will keep going forward."
What's happening in California may be having an effect on people's attitudes, she said.
"They're thinking 'How can we discriminate against this one group?'" she said. "It's unconstitutional."
But Richard Ziser, a longtime local conservative activist and supporter of the 2002 amendment, said the poll results are more likely just a reaction to the gay marriage issue being on the back burner for now.
"The economy and jobs are what people are concerned about right now," he said. "If we were out there talking about it and having it out in front, our numbers would pick up again."
A May 2009 poll found 50 percent of Nevadans were opposed to changing state law to recognize domestic partnerships between unmarried same- and opposite-sex couples. Thirty-eight percent were in favor of domestic partner legislation.
Later that year, a Nevada law went into effect that gives those who register as domestic partners many of the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. Those rights include the ability to make health care decisions for each other, have community property and assume parentage for children. Debt and property are shared.
The law specifies that domestic partners are not considered married and does not affect federal law. That means a person cannot claim a partner as a spouse to file joint income tax returns or secure Social Security benefits of a deceased partner.
Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon, said voters are so concerned with the economy right now "they don't get worked up as much about social issues." While more Nevada voters still oppose legalizing gay marriage, "I just don't see the rabid opposition that existed five or 10 years ago," he said.
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.
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@renostarman: And any conservative who is moderate is always called a RINO (See Schwarzenegger, Specter, Snowe). Funny thing is... Nixon and Eisenhower would be RINO's by today's standard. Teddy Roosevelt would probably be labeled a socialist.
By the way... you mention 66% voted in favor of the state constitutional amendment.
Isn't it funny how to amend the FEDERAL constitution, you have to have 75% of the states approve it? That 66% wouldn't have succeeded on a federal level. So obviously, there are times when a majority does NOT rule. Anywhere from 51%-74%. Yes... founding fathers understood the concept of mob mentality.
Seriously? You think it's a not newsworthy? Especially with what is going on in California right now?
As the voting population ages, the percentage against gay marriage is going to decline, whether you like it or not. Eventually this issue will be revisited and removed by the voters(if not by the federal courts with the California case). It may take a few years or (in the case of places like Utah) many years. But it will happen eventually.
The younger generation is MUCH more tolerant than their parents who are much more tolerant than THEIR parents. Eventually, the majority of people opposed to gay marriage will die off.
66% of Nevada voters were opposed to Gay Marriage enough to vote in favor of a State Constitutional amendment banning it. Why is the Review Journal publishing results, on the front page, that show contrary feelings? I do not get the news worthy aspect of the story. The Review Journal is struggling to stay alive, why spend the money on a non-story. Maybe profits from their lawsuits against copyright infringement. If I grasp this correctly. The RJ sells it's copyright protection to a racket of over litigious bottom feeders. Then, the RJ digs in every direction for a story to put their brand on,regardless of it's newsworthy content. Then they have their sharks attack antone that uses the story on grounds of infringement. Sounds like the Mafia to me. Oh Hank how we miss thee.
The Rights outrageous hypocrisy is just so mindbogglingly absurd, it goes beyond comprehension. There is not ONE voice from the right either on radio, TV, or in print that promotes tolerance. Conservative's: Are your political views so indefensible that you are forced attack others? Must you have someone to hate and belittle, in order to
elevate yourselves above them? It's either gays,or African-Americans or Hispanic's or anchor babies or liberals or Muslims or Jews or??? Your mentors on radio and TV have someone to put down on a daily basis-you go to teaparty rallies and stand next to people carrying racist's signs-Then then you look us in the eye and tell us that your not bigots. The PROOF of teaparty racism is on Google Images.
You Tea Party "people" crack me up . . . . . .
Mr. G: What that article makes clear is that the only organization that is currently trying to link homosexuality to pedophilia is the Family Research Council -- A widely known anti-gay hate group. U.C. Davis conclusion: "In summary, the scientific sources cited by the FRC report do not support their argument. Most of the studies they referenced did not even assess the sexual orientation of abusers. Two studies explicitly concluded that sexual orientation and child molestation are unrelated." -- They also debunk Paul Cameron... who has been discredited so many times, the man is a laughing stock. He is no longer associated with reputable organizations such as the APA, ASA, NPA, CPA. In other words, the guy is a quack.
Mr.G wrote " Liberals come here and attack conservatives with feel good crap and no real facts. They attack conservative values as closed minded and bigoted refusing to accept others as equals". Well sir we attack your values because we are correct-All you have to do is Google "teaparty racism" on Google images and you can see it for yourself-I'd call those pictures REAL FACTS.
If you are a member of the teaparty-THEN YOU EITHER -CONDONE-; OR YOU IGNORE THE RACISM.PERIOD! The images are all over the web.
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall :good post's! I missed quite a lot I see.
I believe, I HAVE to believe, that America will one day live up to it's true values. That one day we WILL hold the torch High. That one day we can truly say, that bigotry,in all it's forms, in America, has been eradicated. That one day Dr. King's dream will go beyond just race-but will include gays and lesbians as well- that one day we will all be judged solely by the content of our character.
This whole state has become a hotbed of reactionary ideas. Sad. I thought we were becoming more progressive.