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America's Voices: Gay Marriage
Aired November 18, 2003 - 14:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to rate the pulse of America, as you weigh in on the top issues of the day. Our focus today, President Bush's trip to London and the ruling on same-sex marriage by the Massachusetts supreme court.
Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll joins us from New Jersey this afternoon. Hello to you. Thanks for being here. Want to ask you what you think the public reaction to that same-sex marriage ruling that we just got today is likely to be?
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Well, we know, Heidi, that the public is opposed, the majority of the public is opposed. And I think looking at our data that this has the potential to really be an issue that galvanizes the religious, conservative segment of American society.
So it could have a lot of impact perhaps because it is a symbolic finding, gay marriage, I think, has symbolic impact in terms of people's feeling that the basic values of America and the family are being threatened. Whether that's true or not.
Here's our trend. Should same-sex marriages be legally recognized? You can see the trend of opposition, which is that top line, had been coming down but it's back up again to 61 percent as of last month.
That was in reaction, we think, to the Texas decision on the part of Supreme Court in validating an anti-sodomy law. And therefore we project that after this decision by the Massachusetts supreme court, opposition could go up even further.
Two main variables predict one's stance on legalizing gay marriage, one is religion. The more religious you are the most opposed you are. And the other is age, a very, very big age difference. If you're 18 to 29, that's youngest group we look at in the Gallup poll, 53 percent support same-sex marriage. If you're 30 and over, look at the huge difference there, 64 percent of that group say they are opposed -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Frank Newport, we appreciate your time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 18, 2003 - 14:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to rate the pulse of America, as you weigh in on the top issues of the day. Our focus today, President Bush's trip to London and the ruling on same-sex marriage by the Massachusetts supreme court.
Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll joins us from New Jersey this afternoon. Hello to you. Thanks for being here. Want to ask you what you think the public reaction to that same-sex marriage ruling that we just got today is likely to be?
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP POLL: Well, we know, Heidi, that the public is opposed, the majority of the public is opposed. And I think looking at our data that this has the potential to really be an issue that galvanizes the religious, conservative segment of American society.
So it could have a lot of impact perhaps because it is a symbolic finding, gay marriage, I think, has symbolic impact in terms of people's feeling that the basic values of America and the family are being threatened. Whether that's true or not.
Here's our trend. Should same-sex marriages be legally recognized? You can see the trend of opposition, which is that top line, had been coming down but it's back up again to 61 percent as of last month.
That was in reaction, we think, to the Texas decision on the part of Supreme Court in validating an anti-sodomy law. And therefore we project that after this decision by the Massachusetts supreme court, opposition could go up even further.
Two main variables predict one's stance on legalizing gay marriage, one is religion. The more religious you are the most opposed you are. And the other is age, a very, very big age difference. If you're 18 to 29, that's youngest group we look at in the Gallup poll, 53 percent support same-sex marriage. If you're 30 and over, look at the huge difference there, 64 percent of that group say they are opposed -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Frank Newport, we appreciate your time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
