A poll released Tuesday and
commissioned by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) found 57
percent of New York voters oppose gay marriage.
NOM is the loudest and most powerful
organization opposed to Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to make New York
the sixth – and most populous – state to legalize gay marriage.
The Assembly approved the proposed
legislation last Wednesday, but
the measure has stalled in the Senate, which is evenly divided on
the issue of giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
While at least 2 previous polls showed
a majority (58%) of New Yorkers in favor of gay marriage, the
NOM-backed poll suggests otherwise.
The survey of registered voters in New
York found a majority (57%) in agreement with the statement that
“marriage should only be between a man and a woman,” while 32
percent disagreed. Eleven percent didn't know or refused to answer.
“Our message to the New York
legislature is simple: Kill this bill and let the people of New York
vote on the issue – that's good sense and good political sense
too,” said
NOM President Brian Brown in a statement releasing the poll's
findings.
“For the Republicans to use their
newfound control to pass a measure with such weak public support in
order to help Andrew Cuomo run for president of the United States is
not only wrong but a colossal blunder,” he added. “To sell your
principles to get elected is always wrong. To sell your principles
to get the other guy elected is just plain dumb.”
According to NOM, pollsters spoke to
302 randomly selected voters, but only 7 percent of poll respondents
were under 40 years old, while a whopping 69 percent were over 50.
Previous polls have shown the issue
breaks down along a generational divide, with younger voters strongly
in favor of marriage equality (up to 70%, in
some polls) and older voters opposed.