A new AP-GfK Poll released Saturday indicates the gay marriage debate is far from over. The survey conducted from July 9-13 shows support for gay marriage in America has slipped to 42 percent, with 40 percent opposing, and 18 percent taking no position on the controversial issue. Along these lines, only 39 percent of those polled supported the recent Supreme Court ruling.
But possibly the most surprising data presented in this poll pertains to recent lower court rulings where businesses were forced to partake in gay weddings despite their religious beliefs:
...59 percent of the poll respondents ... said wedding-related businesses with religious objections should be allowed to refuse service to gay and lesbian couples. That compares with 52 percent in April
Along these lines, a similar number of people felt religious liberty should always take precedence over gay rights.
Overall, if there’s a conflict, a majority of those questioned think religious liberties should win out over gay rights, according to the poll. While 39 percent said it’s more important for the government to protect gay rights, 56 percent said protection of religious liberties should take precedence.
Those polled seem to believe there is a significant difference between a gay couple asking a business to violate a specific belief, and a business simply denying service based on orientation. There was a 12 point difference in support between the two positions.
46 percent said businesses more generally should be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples, while 51 percent said that should not be allowed.
Not surprisingly, most major networks such as CNN and MSNBC completely ignored the results of this poll – ABC News released the AP report on the issue. Covering a shift in national opinion on this topic would cause their rhetoric that this issue is “settled” to falter. But despite the very one sided media coverage on LGBT issues, it appears that most Americans are still in favor of protecting the religious liberties of those who wish to practice their beliefs without interference.
