A new poll shows Florida remains very divided on same-sex marriage in the aftermath of a judge striking down the state constitutional amendment voters backed in 2008 recognizing only traditional marriage in the Sunshine State
Saint PetersBlog commissioned St. Pete Polls to look at same-sex marriage in a poll which was released on Tuesday. The poll finds 39 percent of Florida voters consider the legalization of same-sex marriage to be bad while 34 percent think it is good and 27 percent are either undecided or neutral on its impact.
The poll finds a major partisan divide on the issue. While 46 percent of Democrats think the legalization of same-sex marriage is good, 29 percent think it is bad. A majority of Republicans -- 55 percent -- think the legislation of same-sex marriage is bad while 18 percent think it is good. Independents are divided with 43 percent thinking same-sex marriage is good while 27 percent oppose it.
The poll also shows some racial divides on the issue in Florida. Whites are generally divided, with 37 percent thinking the legalization of same-sex marriage is good while 38 percent say it is bad. Blacks are more against it, with 43 percent saying it is bad while 24 percent support it. Asians are also divided, with 35 percent saying same-sex marriage is bad while 31 percent say it is good. Hispanics break down along similar lines, with 36 percent saying same-sex marriage is bad and 31 percent thinking it is good.
There is not much of a gender gap on the issue, according to the poll. While 39 percent of men think same-sex marriage is bad, 35 percent say it is good. The poll shows women are divided along similar lines, with 38 percent saying same-sex marriage is bad and 34 percent thinking it is good.
There also is not much of a gap between various age groups. The poll finds 40 percent of voters younger than 30, 39 percent of voters in their 30s and 40s, 39 percent of voters in their 50s and 60s and 38 percent of voters 70 and older consider same-sex marriage bad. The poll shows only 29 percent of voters 70 and older think same-sex marriage is good while 35 percent of voters younger than 30, 36 percent of voters in their 30s and 40s, and 35 percent of voters in their 50s and 60s say it is good.
The poll of 4,218 Florida voters was taken from Jan. 30-Feb. 2 and had a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
