Just four months after Minnesota voters rejected a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, a new poll finds that a majority of Minnesotans still oppose marriage equality for gays and lesbians.
Fifty-three percent of Minnesotans say the state statute banning same-sex unions should stand, 38 percent say legislators should overturn the law this year, and 9 percent are undecided, according to a poll commissioned by the Star-Tribune.
The new poll offers a fresh snapshot of an issue that has divided the state, and comes just days after lawmakers launched a long-anticipated effort to legalize gay marriage in Minnesota by this summer.
House Speaker Paul Thissen said he found the poll results surprising.
“There have been a number of polls on the issue. The trend in general is moving toward acceptance of marriage equality,” said Thissen, a Minneapolis Democrat.
“There will certainly be more conversation on this. Our members are talking to their constituents, which is more important than any poll.”
Sponsors of the gay marriage bill aim to repeal Minnesota’s 1997 law that prohibited marriage between couples of the same sex. The bill exempts churches from being forced to perform same-sex weddings.
Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families, which is leading the effort to legalize same-sex marriage, disagreed with the poll’s findings, and said his group’s research shows that most Minnesotans want gay and lesbians to be allowed to marry and that an even larger majority believes the change will have no effect on them personally.State Sen. Scott Dibble (D-Minneapolis), who married his partner in California four years ago before Proposition 8 took away that right, said his bill’s simple aim is: “To allow folks who so desire who have demonstrated the lifetime of love and commitment to get married, even if they are a same sex couple.”
Dibble said he doesn’t know if he has the votes to pass the measure in the Democratic-led Legislature, but Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches him.
During his State of the State address in January, Dayton called on state lawmakers to pass marriage equality legislation this year.
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:-< No person or groups of people are better-than or less-than another, and ALL are born…and here to live…EQUAL!
Thats heartbreaking, and hope it’s not true…now is the time for equal rights in marriage.
Star Tribune polls always have a right wing shift on social issues, most polls have this at like 47 percent support to about 45 oppose
Well either the sampling was off, or (hopefully) they kept their beliefs out of the law.
anyway, sharing a poll that we all know is conservative is really damaging to what we are trying really hard to do right now, and I think you should include the other recent polls that aren’t that hard to find
We’re getting there here if Illinois makes it law it would set up MN to do the same
@Alvin, it’s going to pass here, this poll is way to conservative compared to every other I have seen, and the democratic party would face harsh backlash from their base, and conservatives are coming out to support it. We were actually supposed to be number 10, but it looks like you are going to beat us.
You forgot about the other poll. Majority of LGBTQ persons oppose Minnesota.
Haha, hardly. It would really depend on who was polled. Old crotchety fucks in Anoka-Hennepin? Probably. Sane individuals everywhere else? Likely not.
WTF, MN
Yeah, again, this poll is inaccurate and the star trib, they tend to do shitty polls from time to time.
man and the constitution have nothing to do with same-sex marriage, GOD has given us the right. again man and church are controling what GOD has said.
This is not a valid poll, only polling 800 people when there is over 5 million people in Minnesota!
They voted for that cunt Michele Bachmann, so I could imagine this being totally true.
Yeah, the polling base is waaaaay too small. Take a much larger sample size (and really, an online poll is easy to set up) and THEN you can come back and talk numbers with us.
Well there goes my honeymoon
Tallyn, online polls are incredibly inaccurate (all polls have non-response bias), and there would be no way to make sure only Minnesotans took part
I am very much for it. I also believe the poll for this was off.
“Their Brain Has Been Frozen”
Offer them each Jello and a snow-blower.
Equality is not about polls and voter opinions. It is about rights, guaranteed by the Constitution.
why do we keep doing these polls, it is not their business if me and my partner want to get married! Once DOMA is removed and if the federal government would make it legal in the US then states have to recognize it. Federal Law trumps State Law at all times.
as a gay Minnesotan… 38% sounds low for supporters. I’m not sure we would have a majority for supporters but I’d expect it to be closer to 50-50.
If this is true – then where did the voters come from on election night to defeat the proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution?
Shame.
Rights are not something that should be determined by votes or polls. PERIOD!
This from the state that keeps electing Michelle Bachmann. Can you take any of them seriously? Whats in the waterin Lake Superior?
What should we expect from a state that continues to re-elect Michelle Bachmann again and again?
Hey, not all of us are horrible people. There are too many crazy, religious people here.
Lame
The tide of conscious evolution is growing but slowly and this poll shows the extreme power of perpetual indoctrinations, which all begin from birth!