Poll Shows 57% Of California Asians Oppose Prop 8

Joe.My.God has highlighted this interesting poll showing that 57% of Asian Americans in California oppose Proposition 8.

The poll found that 57 percent of Asian-Americans likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election oppose Proposition 8, which would reverse May's California Supreme Court ruling that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Only 32 percent planned to vote yes. Eleven percent were undecided.

Nearly 1,900 Asian-Americans in the state were interviewed by telephone in eight languages from Aug. 18 to Sept. 26. The survey was the largest scientific poll of Asian-American voters ever done — both nationally and in California.

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Experts in Asian-American voting trends attribute the unfavorable opinion of Proposition 8 to the ability of gay-marriage proponents to frame it as a major civil rights issue.

Many Asian-Americans have faced discrimination and even, in the case of Japanese-Americans during World War II, been thrown into internment camps. And in the first half of the 20th century many Asian-Americans were subjected to laws that banned them from marrying whites, noted Janelle Wong, a member of the survey's research team who teaches at the University of Southern California.

As a result, many Asian-Americans tend to be more sensitive than other Americans to laws that exclude certain groups, said Karthick Ramakrishnan of UC-Riverside, also a member of the research team.

Today in downtown Los Angeles there will be a press conference promoting Asian American community leaders who oppose Proposition 8.