Public Opinion
A May 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 46% of Washington voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 44% thought it should be illegal and 10% were not sure.
An October 2011 University of Washington poll found that 55% of Washington voters would vote to uphold a legislatively approved same-sex marriage bill if it were put to a referendum, while 38% would oppose it and 7% were undecided. A separate question on the same survey found that 43% of respondents thought that gay and lesbian couples should have the same right to marry as straight couples, 22% thought that gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights as straight couples without the word "marriage," 15% thought that gay and lesbian couples should have domestic partnerships with only some of the rights of marriage, 17% opposed all legal recognition, and 3% didn't know.
A February 2012 survey by Public Policy Polling found that 50% of Washington voters would vote to uphold a law which would legalize same-sex marriage, while 46% would vote to repeal it and 4% were not sure. On the same survey voters 49% thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 44% thought it should be illegal and 7% were not sure. When it comes to the options of marriage, civil unions, and no legal recognition, 46% feel that homosexual couples should be allowed to legally marry, 32% believe that gay couples should be allowed a civil union and just 20% are opposed to all legal recognition of gay relationships, 2% were not sure.
A June 2012 survey by Public Policy Polling found that 51% of Washington voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 42% thought it should be illegal and 7% were not sure.
A November 2012 survey by Public Policy Polling found that 54% of Washington voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 40% thought it should be illegal and 5% were not sure.
Read more about this topic: Same-sex Marriage In Washington
Famous quotes related to public opinion:
“Constitutional statutes ... which embody the settled public opinion of the people who enacted them and whom they are to govern—can always be enforced. But if they embody only the sentiments of a bare majority, pronounced under the influence of a temporary excitement, they will, if strenuously opposed, always fail of their object; nay, they are likely to injure the cause they are framed to advance.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)