A slight majority of New Mexico voters support gay marriage.
According
to a poll conducted September 18-22 by Anzalone Liszt Grove
Research and paid for by the coalition of groups behind a campaign to
legalize such unions in New Mexico, 51 percent of respondents said
that they favor gay nuptials, while 42 percent said that they remain
opposed.
The poll arrives just weeks before the New Mexico Supreme Court is
scheduled to hear arguments in a case that could make New Mexico the
14th state to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian
couples.
“This poll confirms what we already knew: New Mexicans are ready
to extend the freedom to marry to loving, committed same-sex
couples,” said Amber Royce, executive director of Equality New
Mexico, one of the groups behind the Why Marriage Matters New Mexico
campaign.
“Equally important, it shows that most New Mexicans don't
believe marriage equality will have much, if any, impact on their own
lives,” Royce added, a reference to the finding that 55 percent of
voters believe that a court decision legalizing such unions would
have “not much” or “no impact at all” on their family and
community.
“It is clear that if the New Mexico Supreme Court upholds the
lower court's ruling, the majority of people would embrace that
decision,” said
Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU-NM, which is backing
the lawsuit. “Voters don't want a constitutional amendment on the
ballot. They want all New Mexicans to be able to marry the person
they love.”
Fifty-four percent of New Mexican voters also said that they would
oppose amending the New Mexico Constitution to exclude gay couples
from marriage.