Marriage

Gay and Lesbian Rights

Trend: Should Gay or Lesbian Relations Between Consenting Adults Be Legal or Not?

Trend: Should same-sex marriages be recognized by the law as valid, or not?

Trend: Do you think gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should or should not be legal?

Trend: Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?

Trend: Do you think marriages between same-sex couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages? (Trend in which q. was not preceded by q. of legality of gay/lesbian relations)

Trend: In your view, is being gay or lesbian something a person is born with, or due to factors such as upbringing and environment?

Trend: Next, I'm going to read you a list of issues. Regardless of whether or not you think it should be legal, for each one, please tell me whether you personally believe that in general it is morally acceptable or morally wrong. How about gay or lesbian relations?

Trend: Thinking about how the gay marriage issue might affect your vote for major offices, would you -- only vote for a candidate who shares your views on gay marriage, consider a candidate's position on gay marriage as just one of many important factors when voting, or would you not see gay marriage as a major issue?

Trend: What is your impression of how most Americans feel about same-sex marriage -- do you think most Americans are in favor of same-sex marriage or opposed to same-sex marriage?

Trend: Do you think issues concerning gays and lesbians will always divide Americans, or do you think Americans will generally agree on those issues at some point in the future?

Just your best guess, what percent of Americans today would you say are gay or lesbian?

Trend: Next, we’d like to know how you feel about the state of the nation in each of the following areas. For each one, please say whether you are -- very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. If you don’t have enough information about a particular subject to rate it, just say so. How about the acceptance of gays and lesbians in the nation?

Trend: Do you think same-sex couples should or should not have the legal right to adopt a child?

Trend: Do you think that homosexual couples should be legally permitted to adopt children?

Suppose that on Election Day you could vote on key issues as well as candidates. Would you vote for or against a federal law that would make same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states?

Trend: Do you think that allowing two people of the same sex to legally marry will change our society for the better, willl it have no effect, or will it change our society for the worse?

Trend: Now I'd like you to think about how your attitudes toward gays and lesbians might have changed in the past few years. Have you become -- [ROTATED: more accepting of gays and lesbians, have your attitudes not changed, or have you become less accepting of gays and lesbians]?

Trend: Do you have any friends or relatives or coworkers who have told you, personally, that they are gay or lesbian?

Trend: What are some of the reasons why you favor legal same-sex marriages? [OPEN-ENDED]

Trend: What are some of the reasons why you oppose legal same-sex marriages? [OPEN-ENDED]

Thinking back, would you say your views on same-sex marriage have or have not changed significantly over the course of your lifetime?

In what ways have your views on same-sex marriage changed? [OPEN-ENDED]

Gay Legal Rights

How serious a problem do you think discrimination against gays and lesbians is in this country -- a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious, or not at all serious?

Do you have a family member, friend, coworker, or personal acquaintance who you know is gay, or not?
What should the next president's role be on the issue of same-sex marriage?

Do you favor or oppose allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to serve in the military?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
	%	%	%
2010 May 3-6	70	25	5
2009 May 7-10	69	26	6
2004 Nov 19-21	63	32	5

Just your best guess, do you think that allowing two people of the same sex to legally marry will change our society for -- [ROTATED: the better, will it have no effect, or will it change our society for the worse]?

	Better	No effect	Worse	No opinion
2009 May 7-10	13%	36	48	2
2003 Sep 19-21	10%	40	48	2

As you may know, federal law currently allows prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of the victim's race, color, religion or national origin. There is a proposal to expand federal hate crime laws to include crimes committed against people because they are gay or lesbian. Would you favor or oppose expanding the federal hate crime laws in this way?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
2009 May 7-10	67%	29	3

Are you, personally, comfortable or uncomfortable when you are around someone you know is gay or lesbian?

	Comfortable	Uncomfortable	No opinion
2009 May 7-10	78%	18	4

Do you have any friends or relatives or coworkers who have told you, personally, that they are gay or lesbian?

	Yes	No	No opinion
2009 May 7-10	58%	40	3
2008 May 30-Jun 1	57%	42	1
2004 Jan 9-11	58%	42	*
2003 Jul 18-20	56%	43	1
* Less than 0.5%

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?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 May 8-11^	49	48	3
2006 May 8-11	50	47	3
2005 Apr 29-May 1	53	44	3
2005 Mar 18-20	57	37	6
2004 Jul 19-21 ^	48	46	6
2004 May 2-4	51	45	4
2004 Mar 5-7	50	45	5
2004 Feb 9-12	53	44	3
2004 Feb 6-8 ^	47	47	6
2003 Jul 18-20	50	45	5
^ Asked of a half sample

Do you feel that homosexuality should be considered an acceptable alternative lifestyle or not?

	Acceptable	Not acceptable	No opinion
	%	%	%
2008 May 8-11	57	40	3
2007 May 10-13	57	39	3
2006 May 8-11 ^	54	41	4
2005 May 2-5 ^	51	45	4
2004 May 2-4	54	42	4
2003 Jul 25-27	46	49	5
2003 May 5-7	54	43	3
2002 May 6-9	51	44	5
2001 May 10-14	52	43	5
1999 Feb 8-9 ^	50	46	4
1997 Apr 18-20 ^	42	52	6
1996 Mar 15-17 ^	44	50	6
1992 Jun 4-8	38	57	5
1982 Jun 25-28	34	51	15
^ Asked of half sample

As you may know, there has been considerable discussion in the news regarding the rights of homosexual men and women. In general, do you think homosexuals should or should not have equal rights in terms of job opportunities?

	Yes, should be	No, should not be	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2008 May 8-11	89	8	1	1
2007 May 10-13	89	8	1	2
2006 May 8-11 ^	89	9	1	1
2005 May 2-5	87	11	1	1
2004 May 2-4 †	89	8	1	2
2003 May 19-21	88	10	1	1
2003 May 5-7	88	9	2	1
2002 May 6-9	86	11	1	2
2001 May 10-14	85	11	3	1
1999 Feb 8-9	83	13	2	2
1996 Nov 21-24	84	12	2	2
1993 Apr 22-24	80	14	--	6
1992 Jun 4-7	74	18	--	8
1989 Oct 12-15	71	18	--	11
1982 Jun 25-28	59	28	--	13
1977 Jun 17-20	56	33	--	11
(vol.) = Volunteered response
† WORDING: As you may know, there has been considerable discussion in the news regarding the rights of homosexual men and women. In general, do you think homosexuals should or should not have equal rights in terms of job opportunities?

As you may know, under the current military policy, no one in the military is asked whether or not they are gay. But if they reveal that they are gay or they engage in homosexual activity, they will be discharged from the military. Do you personally think -- [ROTATED: gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, gays should be allowed to serve under the current policy, or gays should not be allowed to serve in the military under any circumstances]?

	Serve openly	Serve under current policy	Not serve under any circumstances	No opinion
2007 Jul 6-8	46%	36	15	3
2000 Jan 13-16 ^	41%	38	17	4

^ WORDING: As you may know, under the current military policy, no one in the military is asked whether or not they are homosexual. But if they reveal that they are homosexual and they engage in homosexual activity, they will be discharged from the military. Do you personally think -- gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, gays should be allowed to serve under the current policy, or gays should not be allowed to serve in the military under any circumstances?

Do you think homosexuals should or should not be hired for each of the following occupations? First, ... Next, ... [RANDOM ORDER]?

A. Salesperson

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	90	7	1	2
2003 May 19-21	92	6	1	1
2001 May 10-14	91	6	2	1
1999 Feb 8-9	90	8	1	1
1996 Nov 21-24	90	7	1	2
1992 Jun 4-8	82	13	3	2
(vol.) = Volunteered response

B. The armed forces

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	76	22	1	1
2003 May 19-21	80	18	1	1
2001 May 10-14	72	23	2	3
1999 Feb 8-9	70	26	2	2
1996 Nov 21-24	65	29	3	3
1992 Jun 4-8	57	37	2	4

C. Doctors

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	78	19	1	2
2003 May 19-21	82	16	1	1
2001 May 10-14	78	18	2	2
1999 Feb 8-9	75	21	2	2
1996 Nov 21-24	69	25	3	3
1992 Jun 4-8	53	42	2	3

D. Clergy

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	49	47	1	3
2003 May 19-21	56	39	2	3
2001 May 10-14	54	39	2	5
1999 Feb 8-9	54	40	2	4
1996 Nov 21-24	53	40	3	4
1992 Jun 4-8	43	50	2	5
(vol.) = Volunteered response

E. Elementary school teachers

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	54	43	2	1
2003 May 19-21	61	37	2	*
2001 May 10-14	56	40	3	1
1999 Feb 8-9	54	42	2	2
1996 Nov 21-24	55	40	3	2
1992 Jun 4-8	41	54	3	2
* Less than 0.5%

F. High school teachers

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	62	36	1	1
2003 May 19-21	67	30	2	1
2001 May 10-14	63	33	3	1
1999 Feb 8-9	61	36	2	1
1996 Nov 21-24	60	34	3	3
1992 Jun 4-8	47	49	2	2

G. As a member of the president's Cabinet

	Should	Should not	Depends (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2005 May 2-5	75	23	*	2
2003 May 19-21	79	19	*	2
2001 May 10-14	75	21	2	2
1999 Feb 8-9	74	23	1	2
1996 Nov 21-24	71	24	2	3
1992 Jun 4-8	54	39	3	4
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Which of the following arrangements between gay or lesbian couples do you think should be recognized as legally valid -- same-sex marriages, civil unions, but not same-sex marriages, or neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions?

	Same-sex marriages	Civil unions	Neither	No opinion
2005 Mar 18-20 ^	20%	27	45	8
2004 Nov 19-21	21%	32	43	4
^ Asked of a half sample

Would you favor or oppose a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
	%	%	%
2004 May 2-4	49	48	3
2003 Jul 25-27	40	57	3
2003 May 5-7	49	49	2
2002 May 6-9	46	51	3
2002 Apr 8-11	45	46	9
2002 Feb 8-10	41	53	6
2001 May 10-14	44	52	4
2000 Oct 25-28 ^	42	54	4

^ WORDING: Suppose that on election day this year you could vote on key issues as well as candidates. Please tell me whether you would vote for or against each one of the following propositions. Would you vote -- [RANDOM ORDER]? (For or against a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples)

Do you think people who are openly gay or homosexual should -- or should not -- be allowed to serve in the U.S. military?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2003 Dec 5-7	79%	18	3