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A Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriages

A Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriages

by David W. Moore

On a National Public Radio broadcast just before Christmas, two experienced pollsters presented conflicting evidence about the public's support for a constitutional amendment that would make gay marriages illegal. A CBS News poll, reported by Kathy Frankovic, showed Americans favoring such an amendment by a 15-point margin, while a poll by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center, reported by Adam Clymer, found Americans opposed by a 12-point margin.

The issue has become especially salient after last November's ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which said that government attorneys had "failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason" to deny lesbian and gay couples the right to marry in Massachusetts. The court gave the state legislature six months to rewrite the state's marriage laws. Because all states recognize the marriages performed in other states, the court's ruling has implications for the entire country.

So, what do Americans think about the issue? The reports by Frankovic and Clymer show a 27-point difference in the net direction of public opinion, prompting the co-host of the radio show, Robert Siegel, to question why there was such an enormous gap. The most likely cause, it appears, is the difference in question wording.

Question Wording Makes a Difference

The CBS News question asked if people would support an amendment that would allow marriage only between a man and a woman, while the Annenberg question asked if people would favor the federal government adopting an amendment that would ban gay marriage.

Favor
amendment

Oppose
amendment

No
opinion

%

%

%

CBS: Would you favor or oppose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow marriage only between a man and a woman?

55

40

5

Annenberg: Do you favor or oppose the federal government adopting an amendment banning gay marriage?

40

52

8

Difference

-15

+8

+3

Note: Both polls were conducted just before Christmas, with approximately 1,000 respondents each. Annenberg is an ongoing poll, but the results apply to the same five-day period as the CBS News poll.

More than two decades ago, in a path-breaking study of questionnaire design, Howard Schuman and Stanley Presser found a similar discrepancy in findings between two questions on free speech. One question asked if the United States should allow public speeches against democracy, while the other asked if the United States should forbid speeches against democracy. Because "allowing" speeches is the same as "not forbidding" speeches, one might expect the two questions to elicit similar results. But that was not the case.

In the 1979 survey reported by Schuman and Presser, 76% of Americans said the United States should not forbid speeches against democracy, but only 52% said the United States should allow such speeches. For many Americans, to "forbid" an action apparently implies a harsher approach than to "not allow" an action. And they tend to shy away from the harsher alternative.

That finding seems relevant to the two polls reported here, although the comparison is not perfect. The word "banning" is used by Annenberg, rather than "forbidding," and banning may not have as harsh a connotation as forbid does. Still, a comparison of the Annenberg and CBS results suggest that denying an action is perceived as less desirable than only allowing another action -- similar to what Schuman and Presser found in their studies.

Gallup's Wording

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey of the public on this issue was conducted last July, with wording that appears to combine both characteristics of the Annenberg and CBS wording.

Favor

Oppose

No
opinion

CNN/USA Today/Gallup: Would you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, thus barring marriages between gay or lesbian couples?

50%

45

5

This question does not use the word "allow," but it states the particulars of the amendment positively, saying it would define marriage in a certain way. Then it adds the denying aspect of the amendment, by saying it would bar marriages between gay and lesbian couples. To this question, the public responded more ambivalently than to either of the other questions -- with only a five-point difference in support and opposition.

The Gallup survey, however, was conducted five months before the CBS and Annenberg surveys, so the difference in results could be due to changes over time as well as differences in question wording.

Recent Gallup polling shows that Americans disapprove of gay marriages by a large margin (65% against to 31% in favor), with a majority feeling strongly against such marriages.

Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages? (Do you feel strongly or not strongly about this?)

 

Should be
valid,
feel strongly

Should be
valid,
do not feel
strongly

Should not
be valid,
do not feel
strongly

Should not
be valid,
feel strongly

No
opinion

2003 Dec 15-16

17%

14

13

52

4

31%

65%



But whether Americans want to add an amendment to the Constitution to ensure such marriages are not recognized is not so clear. No doubt, any vote would depend very much on how the issue is worded.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/10105/Constitutional-Amendment-Ban-Gay-Marriages.aspx
Gallup World Headquarters, 901 F Street, Washington, D.C., 20001, U.S.A
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