Homosexuals in UK Hold Lukewarm Support for Gay Marriage, Poll Suggests
By Ruth Miyake - Crossmap On June 9, 2012
Only a minority of homosexual people in the United Kingdom consider marriage as priority, according to a new poll, revealing the lukewarm support of gay couples for the redefinition of marriage.
The survey conducted by ComRes, on behalf of the religious campaign group Catholic Voices, reveals that over three quarters of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens viewed legalizing same-sex marriage as "personally important."
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The survey, which was participated by a total of 10,139 people, is allegedly the "first detailed study of gay peoples' attitudes to the government's plans to redefine marriage."
541 people identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or other. Given the small size of the sample, the result should be treated as indicative rather than definitive, suggested Guardian.
While 77 percent disagreed with the statement that marriage should only be “between a man and a woman,” only 39 per cent said that it was a “priority for gay people.”
26 percent of homosexuals said that it is not necessary to redefine marriage, as civil partnerships already confer the same legal rights for same-sex couples as heterosexual ones.
Over 70 percent believed marriage should be “more about love between two people than it is about rearing children.”
50 percent thought it was important to "extend marriage to same-sex couples," and only 27 percent said that they would marry their same-sex partner if the law allowed them to.
"This survey explodes the myth that this is an issue of human rights, equality and discrimination. Gay people do not regard same-sex marriage as a priority, and show no more enthusiasm for it than for civil partnerships," said Dr. Austen Ivereigh, director of Catholic Voices, who helped with the survey.
"This new poll shows that the proposal to redefine marriage divides gay people as well as everyone else. Perhaps now we can move beyond caricatures and have a debate about the real issue – which is that the current definition of marriage in law has good reasons and important benefits," Ivereigh said, according toThe Telegraph.
“This poll confirms yet again that only a handful of people are pushing the Government to redefine marriage," Colin Hart, director of the Coalition for Marriage campaign, which opposes the proposed change, was quoted by The Telegraph for saying.
“Even amongst those within the gay community, there is no majority who thinks that this is a priority.”





