A majority of Latino-Americans support
marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, a new study has found.
According to the poll conducted by NBC
Latino/IBOPE Zogby, sixty percent of 400 respondents supported
marriage equality, while 38 percent disagreed. Forty-eight percent
said they strongly support such unions, and 31 percent said they
strongly disagree. Two percent of respondents refused to answer.
Thalia Zepatos, director of public
engagement for Freedom to Marry, a group which supports gay nuptials,
cheered
the news.
“Support for the freedom to marry in
Latino communities has now reached a supermajority as more Latinos
learn that marriage matters to their gay family members for similar
reasons as it matters to them: to make a lifetime commitment to each
other, to share in the respect and dignity that comes with being
married, and to protect their families,” Zepatos said. “Latinos
care about marriage because they care about family, and no member of
anyone's family should ever face discrimination. As more Latinos
talk with their gay and lesbian family members, they realize that no
one should be denied the freedom to marry the person that they love.”
An October, 2009 NBC/Wall Street
Journal poll found only 45 percent of Hispanics support marriage
for gay couples.