Minnesota moving against marriage ban

Minnesota moving ainst marriage ban

Minnesota’s constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage now appears to be in serious danger of failing, a reversal from a PPP poll four months ago when it led for passage by a 48/44 margin.

Now only 43% of voters support the proposed amendment, with 49% of voters opposed to it. The shift since then has come with independent voters. After previously supporting the amendment by a 50/40 spread, they’re now opposing it 54/37. Republicans continue to strongly favor the amendment (74/21) while Democrats are almost equally strong in their opposition (71/22).

Independents coming a lot closer to Democrats than Republicans on gay rights is becoming something of a constant in our polling. The GOP seriously risks antagonizing voters in the middle if it continues to pursue a far right social agenda.

 – Public Policy Polling.

Minnesota sees the same massive generational gap on this issue that we’ve found in other states. Voters over 45 support the proposed amendment by a 50/42 spread. But those under 45 oppose it by an even greater 60/34 margin.

Voters in the state think gay marriage should be legal by a 47/42 margin, closely matching the numbers on the amendment. And when you expand the discussion to civil unions 75% of voters support some form of legal recognition for gay couples to only 21% who think there should be none. That includes even 55% of Republicans.

Republicans are headed for better news with their proposed amendment to require voters to show a photo identification when they go to cast their ballots. 58% of voters support that with 34% opposed. Republicans (84/10) are almost unanimously supportive of it and independents (58/35) strongly favor it as well. Democrats are opposed (36/54) but not to a large enough extent to come anywhere close to defeating the amendment.

Mark Dayton’s still winning the battle of public opinion when it comes to state politics. He has a solid 49/36 approval rating. Meanwhile the Republicans in the legislature have just a 21% approval rating, with 61% of voters disapproving of them. That includes a 12/66 spread with independents. Democrats are strongly positioned to make major gains in legislative seats this fall, as they lead the generic ballot 48-36 thanks in large part to a 13 point advantage with independents.

Related articles

• Target Selling T-Shirts To Help Defeat Gay Marriage Ban (huffingtonpost.com)
• Can Obama’s stance on gay unions sway voters? (stltoday.com)
• Minnesota Lutherans reject gay marriage ban (queeringthechurch.com)

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