PollingReport.com

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    Law and Civil Rights

 See also: Supreme Court | Crime | Education | News media | Online privacy | Race/Ethnicity | Religion | War on Terrorism


Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

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ABC News/Facebook poll. Dec. 16-19, 2007. N=1,142 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. Fieldwork by TNS.

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"Do you think homosexual couples should or should not be allowed to form legally recognized civil unions, giving them the legal rights of married couples in areas such as health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage?"

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Should Should Not Unsure
% % %

12/16-19/07

54 43 4
5/31 - 6/4/06 45 48 7
3/4-7/04 51 46 3
2/18-22/04 45 48 7
1/15-18/04 46 51 4
9/03 40 51 9

 

Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll. Oct. 19-22, 2007. N=1,039 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Which of the following statements comes closest to your view? Same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry. OR, Same-sex couples should be allowed to legally form civil unions, but not marry. OR, Same -sex couples should not be allowed to either marry or form civil unions."

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Marry Form
Civil Unions
Neither Unsure  
% % % %  

10/19-22/07

30 26 38 6  

 

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Oct. 12-14, 2007. N=1,212 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?"

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Should Should Not Unsure    
% % %    

10/12-14/07

40 56 3    

8/6-8/07

40 57 3    

 

USA Today/Gallup Poll. Sept. 7-8, 2007. N=1,028 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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

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Acceptable Not
Acceptable
Unsure
% % %

9/7-8/07

48 46 6

5/10-13/07

57 39 3

5/8-11/06

54 41 4

5/2-5/05

51 45 4

5/2-4/04

54 42 4

6/25-28/82

34 51 15

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

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Yes No Unsure
% % %

9/7-8/07

46 50 4

 

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Aug. 6-8, 2007. N=1,029 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you favor or oppose the plan in which the U.S. military does not ask new recruits whether they are homosexual, but would still prohibit homosexuals from serving if they reveal their sexual orientation?"

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Favor Oppose Unsure    
% % %    

8/6-8/07

38 57 6    

 

Gallup Poll. May 10-13, 2007. N=1,003 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"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?"

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Should Should Not Depends (vol.) Unsure

%

%

%

%

5/10-13/07

89

8

1

2

5/8-11/06

89

9

1

1

6/17-20/77

56

33

-

11

.

"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?"

.

Should Should Not Unsure

%

%

%

5/10-13/07

46

53

1

5/8-11/06

42

56

2

.

"Now, thinking about what have been called 'hate crimes' -- those crimes committed because the criminal hates the group of people to which the victim belongs. 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. Do you favor or oppose these laws?"

.

Favor Oppose Unsure

%

%

%

5/10-13/07

78

18

4

.

"There is a proposal to expand federal hate crime laws to include crimes committed on the basis of the victim's gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. Would you favor or oppose expanding the federal hate crime laws in this way?"

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Favor Oppose Unsure

%

%

%

5/10-13/07

68

27

5


 

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. May 4-6, 2007. N=1,028 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"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?"

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Same-Sex
Marriages
Civil Unions Neither Unsure  
% % % %  

5/4-6/07

24 27 43 6  

10/27-29/06

24 26 45 5  

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

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Should Should Not Unsure    
% % %    

5/4-6/07

79 18 3    

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"Do you think gay or lesbian couples should or should not have the legal right to adopt a child?"

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Should Should Not Unsure    
% % %    

5/4-6/07

57 40 3    

 

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. March 14-15, 2007. N=1,001 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you think gays and lesbians should or should NOT be able to serve openly in the military?"

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Should Should Not Unsure

.

.

% % %

.

.

3/14-15/07

63 28 9

.

.

.

"There has been much talk recently about whether gays and lesbians should have the legal right to marry someone of the same sex. Which of the following comes closest to your position on this issue? Do you support FULL marriage rights for same-sex couples, support civil unions or partnerships for same-sex couples BUT NOT full marriage rights, or do you oppose ANY legal recognition for same-sex couples?"

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Marriage
Rights
Civil Unions No Legal
Recognition
Unsure

.

% % % %

.

3/14-15/07

26 24 44 6

.

.

"We're interested in whether certain information about a presidential candidate would cause you to vote against the candidate, regardless of other factors. What if you found out that the candidate was a strong supporter of full marriage rights for same-sex couples? Would that ALONE cause you to vote against the candidate?"

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Yes No Unsure

.

% % %

.

3/14-15/07

38 59 3

.


 

Associated Press/AOL poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. Jan. 16-18, 2007. N=1,005 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

.

"Would you favor or oppose a law that would ban gay marriage, requiring that marriage should be between a man and a woman?"

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Favor Oppose Unsure

%

%

%

1/16-18/07

51

45

4


 

Quinnipiac University Poll. Nov. 13-19, 2006. N=1,623 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 2.4.

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"Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions, giving them many of the legal rights of married couples?"

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Support Oppose Unsure
% % %

11/13-19/06

45 52 4
12/7-12/04 45 51 4
7/18-22/04 40 55 6
3/16-22/04 40 53 7
1/28-31/04 40 53 7
12/4-8/03 40 53 7

.

"Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to get married?"

.

Support Oppose Unsure
% % %

11/13-19/06

34 63 4
12/7-12/04 31 65 4
7/18-22/04 31 63 5
3/16-22/04 31 63 5
1/28-31/04 34 61 5
12/4-8/03 35 60 5

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"Would you support or oppose amending the United States Constitution to ban same-sex marriage?"

.

Support Oppose Unsure
% % %

11/13-19/06

43 53 4
12/7-12/04 43 53 4
7/18-22/04 39 55 6
3/16-22/04 41 51 8

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"The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual ones and that state legislators must rewrite New Jersey laws to make this happen. If you had to choose in your state, which would you prefer: allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions or allowing same-sex couples to get married?"

.

Civil
Unions
Marriage Neither
(vol.)
Unsure
% % % %

11/13-19/06

44 24 27 5

 

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Nov. 4-5, 2006. N=900 likely voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.
LV = likely voters. Except where noted, results below are among registered voters.

.

"Do you believe gays and lesbians should be allowed to get legally married, allowed a legal partnership similar to but not called marriage, or should there be no legal recognition given to gay and lesbian relationships?"

.

Legally
Married
Legal
Partnership
No Legal
Recognition
Unsure  
% % % %  
11/4-5/06 LV 30 30 32 7  
6/13-14/06 27 25 39 8  
5/04 25 26 40 9  
3/04 20 33 40 7  

 

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Oct. 27-31, 2006. N=1,084 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (for all adults).

.

"Which comes closest to your view? Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry. OR, Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry. OR, There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship."

.

Legal
Marriage
Civil
Unions
No Legal
Recognition
Unsure
% % % %
ALL adults 28 29 38 5
  Republicans 12 29 54 5
  Democrats 41 27 29 3
  Independents 28 31 35 6

.

Trend:
6/06 27 30 40 3
2/24-28/05 23 34 41 2

11/18-21/04

21 32 44 3
7/11-15/04 28 31 38 3
5/20-23/04 28 29 40 3
3/10-14/04 22 33 40 5

 

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Oct. 26-27, 2006. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (for all adults).

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"There has been much talk recently about whether gays and lesbians should have the legal right to marry someone of the same sex. Which of the following comes closest to your position on this issue? Do you support FULL marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples; do you support gay civil unions or partnerships, BUT NOT gay marriage; or, do you oppose ANY legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples?"

.

Full Marriage
Rights
Civil Unions/
Partnerships
No Legal
Recognition
Unsure  
% % % %  
ALL adults 24 26 40 10  
  Republicans 9 27 58 6  
  Democrats 34 23 33 10  
  Independents 24 32 33 11  
Trend:
5/13-14/04 28 23 43 6  
2/19-20/04 23 24 45 8  

 

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey conducted by Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas (SRBI). July 6-19, 2006. Adults nationwide. (June 2006 and earlier conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.)

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"Do you strongly favor, favor, oppose, or strongly oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally?" N=2,003, MoE ± 2.5

.