A new Field Poll released on Friday shows a majority of California voters would oppose an amendment to the state’s constitution banning same-sex marriage. According to the poll, 51 percent of likely voters would vote no to the proposed amendment in November, compared to 42 who would vote yes.
In a statewide survey completed this week among 672 randomly selected likely voters, The Field Poll found that a majority, 51 percent, would vote against the proposed California Marriage Protection Act. Forty-two percent of those surveyed stated they would vote in support of the constitutional amendment. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.
Respondents in the Field Poll were strongly split by political party lines, with 63 percent of Democrats indicating they would vote against Proposition 8, while 68 percent of Republicans plan to vote yes. The majority of non-partisan voters, 66 percent, stated they intended to vote against the proposed amendment.
The strongest opposition to the Marriage Protection Act, 67 percent to 26 percent against, was found in the San Francisco Bay Area, which harbors a high percentage of gay and lesbian citizens. Los Angeles residents also overwhelmingly came out against the proposed gay marriage ban, 51 percent to 41 percent.
A previous voter’s initiative passed in 2000 limited the definition of marriage to “a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman.” A California Supreme Court decision in May ruled that preventing gay and lesbian couples from marrying was a violation of the state’s constitutional guarantee of equal rights. Same-sex couples across California began legally marrying in June as a result of the court’s ruling.
The new voter’s initiative, also known as Proposition 8, would alter the state’s constitution with an amendment to specify that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” California voters will vote on the proposed amendment in November.
The California Supreme Court rejected a challenge on Wednesday to remove the proposed amendment from the November ballot. A petition filed by a collection of gay and lesbian advocacy groups sought to remove the ballot initiative on the grounds it would deprive gay and lesbian couples of their fundamental rights to marriage equality. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court rejected the challenge to the ballot initiative without comment in a unanimous decision.
