Field Poll: California voters split on marriage equality

A new Field poll released today (.PDF) shows that if a vote was held again in California on marriage equality, 48% of the state’s registered voters say they would vote Yes for marriage equality,  47% would vote No and 5% are undecided.

According to the statewide Field Poll, which was conducted from February 20 – March 1, the results “reveal a voting public that remains sharply divided both overall and across political, demographic and regional lines”:

• Democrats are very much in favor of such an amendment, 63% to 32%, while Republicans are very much against it (70% No vs. 24% Yes). Non-partisans divide 55% Yes and 42% No.
• Los Angeles County voters would line up on the Yes side 55% to 40%. San Francisco Bay Area voters would favor the amendment by an even larger margin (64% to 31%). However, voters in Southern California outside of Los Angeles County, those in the Central Valley and Northern Californians outside the Bay Area would initially line up against such an amendment.
• There are also differences by gender, with men opposed 52% to 43% and women in favor 53% to 42%.
• Younger voters age 18 to 39 would support the amendment 55% to 41%, while voters in the 40 to 64 age group are narrowly in favor (49% to 46%). Voters age 65 or older are in opposition, 58% to 34%.
• Just 10% of strongly conservative voters would be on the Yes side of the proposed amendment, and 25% of moderately conservative voters are in favor. The percentage in support increases to 49% among middle-of-the-road voters, to 77% among moderately liberal voters, and to 88% among those who describe themselves as strongly liberal.
• Married voters would line up 50% on the No side and 45% in favor. Those who are separated or divorced are about evenly split – 47% in favor and 45% opposed. Among those who have never married, the division of preference is 63% Yes and 35% No.
• Protestants divide 63% No vs. 31% Yes. Catholics would vote 53% No and 45% Yes. On the other hand, voters who are affiliated with religions other than Protestant or Catholic are strongly in favor, 63% to 33%, as are those who have no religious preference, 81% to 17%.
• Voters who say they personally know or work with gay or lesbian individuals are in favor 56% to 41%. Those who do not are strongly against the proposed amendment, 66% to 27%.

Read more about the Field Poll at GoodAsYou.org , where Jeremy Hooper has embedded the poll in his page for easy viewing. 

This poll clearly tells us that the continued campaign to obtain equal marriage rights in California still remains an all-hands-on-deck battle.  We’re waiting for the California Supreme Court to determine if Prop 8 will stand – and what will happen to the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who were legally wedded in the state – but this poll sends a message now that there is much work to do convince people of the LGBT community’s moral and legal right to marriage equality.  As we posted this morning, HRC has signed on as a sponsor of the Courage Campaign’s “Camp Courage,” a series of training programs to build a network of grassroots leaders advocating for marriage equality.  That’s just one of the many ways we’ll be working to help change hearts and minds to support the equal legal recognition of LGBT relationships.