IN June, the Supreme Court historically ruled that same-sex marriage was legal across the nation, and that states must grant civil union licenses regardless of religious beliefs or previous legislation. The landmark decision has left Americans sharply divided, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-GfK.
The poll found a near-even split over issues of granting marriage licenses to gay couples, and also suggests that support for gay unions may be down slightly from earlier this year. 47 percent argued that local officials with religious objections should be required to issue gay marriage licenses, while 49 percent said they should be exempt.
“Overall, if there’s a conflict, a majority of those questioned think religious liberties should win out over gay rights,” according to the poll. While 39 percent said it’s more important for the government to protect gay rights, 56 percent said protection of religious liberties should take precedence.
The poll of 1,004 adults was conducted from July 9 to July 13, less than three weeks after the Supreme Court ruling.
According to the poll, 42 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage and 40 percent oppose it. The percentage saying they favor legal same-sex marriage in their state went down slightly, from 48 to 42 percent who said so in an April poll. Back in January, 44 percent were in favor.
When asked specifically about the Supreme Court ruling, 39 percent said they approve and 41 percent said they disapprove.
“What the Supreme Court did is jeopardize our religious freedoms,” said Michael Boehm, 61, an industrial controls engineer from Detroit, who describes himself as a conservative-leaning independent. “You’re going to see a conflict between civil law and people who want to live their lives according to their faiths.”
Boehm was among 59 percent of the poll respondents who said wedding-related businesses with religious objections should be allowed to refuse service to gay and lesbian couples. That figure compares with 52 percent in April.
46 percent of those surveyed said businesses more generally should be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples, while 51 percent said that should not be allowed.
Claudette Girouard, 69, a retiree from Chesterfield Township, Michigan, said she is a moderate independent voter who has gradually become supportive of letting same-sex couples marry.
“I don’t see what the big hoopla is,” she said, adding: “If they’re happy, why not?”
Girouard said local officials should be required to perform same-sex marriages, but does not think that wedding-related businesses should be forced to serve same-sex couples.
“If the official doesn’t like what he’s being asked to do, then quit,” she said. “But businesses are kind of independent, so if they have a strong belief against it, there are enough other businesses out there for someone to use.”
The poll also found pronounced differences in viewpoints depending on political affiliation.
For instance, 65 percent of Democrats, but only 22 percent of Republicans favored allowing same-sex couples to legally marry in their state. 72 percent of Republicans and just 31 percent of Democrats also said local officials with religious objections should be exempt from issuing marriage licenses.
By a 64-32 margin, most Democrats said it’s more important to protect gay rights than religious liberties when the two are in conflict. Republicans (divided 82-17) said the opposite.
Clarence Wells, 60, a conservative from Tennessee, said he strongly disapproved of the Supreme Court’s ruling and anticipates tension between gay couples trying to exercise their newfound rights, and people with religious objections to the ruling.
“I don’t believe it’s going to go over smoothly,” said Wells. “I think a lot of them will be shunned in church…I think there will businesses that are going to close, because some people are stubborn enough to not want to deal with it.”
Andrew Chan, 41, a moderate independent from Seattle, said he has tried to remain neutral on same-sex marriage.
“For me, it’s always been about tolerating,” said Chan, who works for a nonprofit organization. “I’ve got friends on both sides.”
Chan said he was happy for gays and lesbians who have found someone they want to marry, and he expressed some wariness toward politicians who might try to roll back the Supreme Court ruling.
“That just creates more division,” he said. “Are we looking to move the country forward or move it backward? (With reports from Associated Press)
