Poll shows most in state back current marriage law

By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Nearly 60 percent of Washington residents, in a statewide poll conducted before this month's elections, said the state law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman should not be changed.

Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed said marriage is not an outmoded, old-fashioned institution, and more than 90 percent said they expected their own marriages to last the rest of their lives.

"We are encouraged that this many people recognize how important an issue the institution of marriage is. We believe even more people would recognize it if it ever came to a vote," said Jeff Kemp, president of Families Northwest, a group that has long opposed same-sex marriage. The nonprofit organization commissioned the survey and released its results yesterday.

Wirthlin Worldwide polled 402 Washington adults by telephone between Oct. 6-9. The firm said the survey has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.

Among the poll's findings:

• Thirty-nine percent said they were not aware of the same-sex marriage cases pending before the state Supreme Court.

• Fifty-nine percent of the poll respondents said the definition of marriage should not be changed, while 39 percent said they thought it should be.

• Fifty-seven percent said marriage should remain between one man and one woman, while 41 percent said it should be between two loving adults, regardless of their gender.

(By comparison, a Seattle Times poll this spring found slightly more than 50 percent of those surveyed said same-sex couples should be denied the right to marry, while 44 percent supported gay marriage.)

The responses released yesterday were part of a wider survey on marriage commissioned by Families Northwest.
 
The Bellevue-based organization offers research on marriage as well as programs aimed at helping couples stay together. At the core of the group's mission, Kemp said, are families and children.

"It's really the birthright of children to be raised by a mom and dad," he said. "Marriage as defined is a fundamental institution that makes that a fulfilled dream."

Kemp said that because of the organization's nonpartisan status, he held off releasing survey results before the Nov. 2 election.

Voters in 11 states, including Oregon, passed constitutional amendments that restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman. A few of the bans also outlawed domestic partnerships and civil unions for gays and lesbians.

Earlier this year in Washington state, two superior-court judges sided with same-sex couples who sought the right to marry, striking down the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage to heterosexual couples.

The Washington Supreme Court will hear the appeals of those rulings on March 8.

"Washington state is in a unique spot, next to Massachusetts, and kind of at the forefront of this cultural debate," Kemp said. "Other states have had elections; we have had court cases."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com