A measure which would add sexual
orientation and gender identity to the Anchorage Equal Rights
Initiative has more supporters than opponents, a poll has found.
The
poll, conducted by Dittman Research and Communications Corp.,
found 50 percent of the 500 Anchorage voters surveyed support the
proposed measure, while 41 percent are opposed. Only 9 percent said
they were undecided.
The poll has a margin of error of plus
or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Voters on April 3 will consider the
proposal, which, if approved, would override Mayor Dan Sullivan's
2009 veto of a similar ordinance approved by the Anchorage Assembly.
Opponents of the law have argued that
the proposed law would be bad for business.
“Compliance with Proposition 5 would
be virtually impossible and very expensive for many businesses and
organizations,” the group Protect Your Rights – Vote No On Prop 5
wrote
on its website.
“Other states and cities have passed
laws similar to Prop. 5, and the results have been disturbing. Armed
with the new legal weapons provided by these laws, homosexual and
'transgendered' activists are challenging businesses and
organizations that have traditional views on human sexuality and
forcing them to act contrary to the consciences of the business
owners, and contrary to their traditions and 'branding identity.'”
On its Facebook page, the group said
the poll showed it had “some work ahead of us to close the gap by
April 3.”
“We will win this when each and
everyone of us decides to make a difference by talking to our
friends, families and co-workers and encouraging them to VOTE NO on
PROP 5.”
(Related: Anchorage
gay protections Prop 5 supporters call opponents' ad “dehumanizing.”)