NYT/CBS Poll Results (2004-2007) on Recognition for Same Sex Couples

Below are results from the New York Times/CBS News poll (source .pdf) for the last three years tabulating responses to the question: 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?

Poll Taken      Marry  Civil unions  No legal recognition  DK/NA
3/10-14/04      22     33            40                    6
5/20-23/04* CBS 28     29            40                    3
7/11-15/04      28     31            38                    3
10/28-30/04     23     34            36                    7
11/18-21/04     21     32            44                    3
2/24-28/05      23     34            41                    2
7/29-8/2/05 CBS 27     27            43                    4
10/27-31/06     28     29            38                    5
3/7-11/07       28     32            35                    5
REPUBLICANS     14     30            52                    4

What one notices immediately is that there really has not been much of a shift in public opinion in
over three years of polling, although there was a dip in support for full marriage equality coinciding with the 2004 presidential election and the presence of anti-gay initiatives on numerous statewide ballots.

The last line separates the poll results for registered Republican voters. Interestingly, these voters have a nearly identical level of support for civil unions as the general population. However when it comes to a complete denial of marriage equality (i.e. no legal recognition whatsoever) a majority of Republicans support explicit codified discrimination.

Together, the latest poll results reveal that nearly 60 percent of all registered voters support some form of legal recognition for same sex couples. This is bad news for heterosexist supremacists who are still trying to promulgate anti-marriage ballot measures in the states. This is good news for organizations that are trying to enact civil unions in states like Washington, Oregon and Illinois.