In Brief

Staff Reports

BYU Poll Shows 71% Of Utah's Voters Support Some Form Of Legal Equality For Same-Sex Couples

PROVO, UT -- In a poll published Monday by Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, found that 43 per cent of respondents surveyed thought civil unions should be legal, while 28 per cent wanted full marriage equality. Conversely, the survey results showed that only 29 per cent were opposed to any form of legal recognition, a substantial drop from 54 per cent in 2004.

"Utah is seeing the same kind of movement that we see in the United States generally," said Chris Karpowitz, a BYU political science professor and fellow at the center. "We're getting massive change in public opinion in a very short period of time."

"What makes Utah voters different," Karpowitz says, is that they are moving "not toward full support of marriage equality but toward civil unions." ~ Deseret News

The total percentage in favour of marriage equality, including those who support civil unions as an alternative, was 72 per cent.

President Barack Obama’s recent shift on the same-sex marriage issue has brought renewed attention to the voter trends in national polling regarding same-sex equality rights. Survey data from Gallup, Pew, and New York Times/CBS all show that Americans are now more likely to agree with the administration than they were just a few years ago.

The survey was based on election exit polls and surveys of voter panels derived from exit polls.