Gay and Lesbian Connection

Views on same-sex marriage in New York State have certainly shifted since 2004.

Republican politicians and Catholic Bishops have been leading the parade to ban same-sex marriage over the last decade.  But two recent surprises in New York State will most probably raise some eyebrows among these groups.

A recent survey of New York registered voters found that a solid majority (56%) now say they would support a law that would allow same-sex couples to marry. Support for such a law by New York Jewish Voters was 60% and New York Protestant voters was 46%. 

And the poll’s finding that a majority (52%) of New York Catholic voters support allowing same-sex couples to marry–now that was a surprise. 

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Acceptance of gay marriage is definitely on the rise.

Over 20 years ago, pollsters started asking Americans about gay marriage.  That was back in 1988 when more than 70 percent of the people polled were opposed to gay marriage, and around 10 percent were in favor of it. Well here it is just two decades later and over 40 percent of those surveyed supported gay marriage.

So what’s going on?  For one thing gay rights groups and other activists have been increasingly more organized and vocal about calling for full equity in marriage. For another society has become more secular and secular arguments against same-sex marriage haven’t proved to be very persuasive. Another reason is the generational reality.  People under 30 like Barbara Bush, the Republican daughter of George W. Bush said this week, “Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love.”

So it seems it’s not just Democratic opinions that are evolving.

Another case in point is Tom Rielly, a Catholic Democrat from Oskaloosa, Iowa who recently said, “I believe marriage is a one-man, one-woman, one-time proposition. But I’m not going to use that as a test to deny someone their civil rights. For the life of me, I don’t understand how anybody can say, ‘This couple over here, you can enter into a civil contract to get health insurance, tax status, pension benefits, survivor benefits, end-of-life care. But you over here, because you’re gay, you can’t do that.”

“How is that not discriminatory?” Rielly asked.  A good question.  

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