Poll: Marriage Support Drops In NY

A Siena poll released today shows that support for marriage equality has unexpectedly dropped seven points in New York state. Elizabeth Benjamin:

Today's Siena poll doesn't have much good news for Gov. David Paterson (again), showing his job approval rating remains historically low (18 percent) and also that New Yorkers are split down the middle (46-46) on one of his signature issues: The legalization of gay marriage. Over the past month, support for gay marriage dropped seven percentage points while opposition rose by the same amount, according to Siena poll spokesman Steve Greenberg. Support for passage of the bill slipped 10 percentage points with independent voters (a key voting bloc), NYC voters, young people, women and African Americans during that same time period.Interestingly, however, 78 percent of poll participants said they agree with Paterson's call for Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith to allow an up-or-down vote on the marriage bill with just 15 percent siding with Smith's tactic of only letting the measure onto the floor if it is sure to pass.

Let's hope this is one of those famous "outlier polls" we keep hearing about. Embiggen the below chart for a breakdown by party, age, and religion.

And here is "Luke", the latest TV ad from the Empire State Pride Agenda. Donate here to keep this ad on the air.