PA Poll Shows Wide Support for Civil Unions

March 8, 2008

A new survey has found overwhelming support for allowing civil unions for same-sex couples in Pennsylvania.

Sixty-five percent of those polled said they would support civil unions in the state, while 37 percent were opposed.

The survey was conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research for the Value All Families Coalition, an umbrella organization fighting a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, block civil unions and possibly curtail domestic partner benefits.

A similar measure died in a Senate committee in 2006.

This support for civil unions is consistent with the position that the Pennsylvania Senate took in June of 2006, said Stacey Sobel, Executive Director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania.

Then the Senate was asked to vote on an extreme constitutional amendment that is strikingly similar to the one that was recently introduced. The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee and the Pennsylvania Senate rejected the radical approach of that amendment and altered the proposal to allow for civil unions.

Pennsylvania law already limits marriage to opposite-sex couples.

The new Susquehanna Poll found that even among people who regarded themselves as conservatives. Among those who identified as Republicans, 57 percent said they would support civil unions while only 35 percent oppose them.

The issue of same-sex marriage has not been much of a factor in this year's highly competitive primary elections. Voters all across the country have indicated that they are very concerned about the economy, health care, national security and the environment.

Pennsylvania is one of the few states where legislators are spending any time trying to write a gay marriage ban into their state Constitution.

This is an issue being driven by a special interest group who are misleading our elected officials and the public by implying that our legislators have not dealt with this issue, Sobel said in a statement.

Surely, the majority of the members of the House and Senate realize that they have been elected to deal with real problems and we urge them to spend their time on more pressing issues.

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