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Another day, another poll finding increased support for same-sex marriage crossing party lines.
This time around it's Anzalone Liszt Grove Research touting findings that show a whopping 75 percent of registered voters supporting constitutional marriage rights for same-sex couples. Even more impressing is the 83 percent who believe federal marriage equality for same-sex couples will be achieved within ten years.
Other key findings from the new survey include:
1. Voters from all political persuasions believe that the ability to marry the person you love is a Constitutional right of every American.
Voters express strong support for the notion that the ability to marry the person you love is a fundamental freedom and Constitutional right for every American, including gays and lesbians. Three-quarters of voters (75%) believe that it is a Constitutional right, up from 71% in 2011. This sentiment spans across party lines, as 91% of Democrats, 75% of Independents, and 56% of Republican voters all believe the freedom to marry the person you love is a Constitutional right.
Voters are firmly rooted in the notion that the ability to marry is a right that should be provided to all people, including gay and lesbian couples. A majority feels that to deny this is discrimination.
· Allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry says you believe the principle of equal human dignity should apply to all people – 65% believe that this describes their feelings very or pretty well, including 49% of voters who believe that this describes their views very well.
· The freedom to marry is a fundamental freedom that should not be denied to anyone. Nearly two-thirds (64%) believe this describes their views towards allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry very/pretty well, including nearly half (46%) who believe it describes their views towards allowing gay and lesbian couples very well.
· Denying gays & lesbians the right to marry is considered discrimination. 59% of voters believe this describes their view very/pretty well, 45% very well.
2. An overwhelming majority of voters -- including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents -- believe that allowing same-sex couples the right to legally marry is likely to happen regardless of their personal opinion on the issue.
With nine states now allowing same-sex couples to legally marry and more moving in that direction, voters almost universally believe that it will be legal nationally in the next five to ten years (83%), and 77% believe that it will be legal nationally “in the next couple of years” – regardless of their personal opinion on the issue. This represents a sizeable increase since 2011 when 72% believed it would happen in the next five to ten years, and 67% believed it would happen in “the next couple of years.” While Democratic voters feel most strongly (82% believe it will happen in the next couple years), huge margins of Independents and Republicans feel the same way (73% and 70% respectively).
3. Nearly two-thirds of voters believe that allowing same-sex couples to legally marry would not impact them.
Nearly two-thirds of voters believe that that allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry would not have much impact or would have no impact on them at all. Fifteen percent (15%)believe the impact would be positive; only 19% of all voters believe that a ruling allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry would have a negative impact on them.
ALGR polled around 800 registered voters in late January to arrive at the results.
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