Marriage line drawn

Voters favor rights, but not weddings for same-sex couples

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 19, 2006 at midnight

Text size

More Airlines & Aerospace

More stories »

More than half of Colorado voters support giving legal rights to gay couples, but an almost equal number don't want them to get married, according to a new Rocky Mountain News/CBS 4 poll.

Fifty-eight percent of registered voters said in a recent survey that they support Referendum I, a measure that would allow gay couples to register as domestic partners and obtain many of the legal rights and responsibilities given to married couples, such as making medical decisions for a partner.

At the same time, 52 percent of voters said they support Amendment 43, a measure that would effectively ban gay marriage by putting a one man-one woman definition of marriage in the state constitution.

While voters who support Referendum I typically oppose Amendment 43, and vice versa, nearly one in five voters said they approve of both measures.

"The framers of Ref I were very careful and specific," said pollster Lori Weigel. The measure "explicitly states that this is not marriage . . . and that is allowing some people to support both."

Cindy Thomas, a nurse from Denver, said she would vote yes on both initiatives.

"I'm not opposed to (gay couples) having legal rights to deal with health insurance and life insurance and all those sorts of things that are important. Why would that be something that we would say no to?" the 42-year-old poll participant said.

"But I still want the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman."

The poll findings are based on statewide telephone interviews of 500 registered voters who said they are likely to vote in November. It was conducted Sept. 10 through Sept. 12 by Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies, a firm that generally polls for Republican candidates. David Kenney, of the Kenney Group, a firm that typically works with Democratic candidates, consulted on the questionnaire and analysis.

The sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.

Issues draw big money

The current gay rights battle began in February, when a coalition of 10 Christian groups called Coloradans for Marriage launched a campaign for what is now known as Amendment 43. The measure is backed by the Colorado Springs- based evangelical group Focus on the Family, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Colorado Catholic Conference.

Similar ballot measures, known as defense of marriage acts, have been approved in recent years by voters in nearly 20 states. Some use the simple "one man-one woman" language, while others also ban civil unions.

The Colorado gay rights community fired back with an unusual tactic: They persuaded state lawmakers to sponsor a domestic partnership bill, which was passed by both houses and referred to the November ballot as Referendum I.

National organizations on both sides of the issue are closely watching the Colorado campaigns because the state appears to be the only one with competing measures on the same ballot.

Until last month, voters could have faced four ballot measures on this issue - one that sought to deny legal recognition of domestic partnerships and another seeking to cancel out the anti-domestic partnership measure. But sponsors of both those measures dropped their campaigns last month.

The surviving campaigns are expected to spend millions.

Coloradans for Fairness and Equality has raised nearly $870,000 as of the end of August, campaign finance records show.

On the other side, Coloradans for Marriage has raised about $265,000 and Focus on the Family and its political arm have given more than $700,000 to another political action committee that has bought media time to support Amendment 43 and oppose Ref I.

Drawing line at marriage

The voter poll shows that, in general, there are major demographic differences between supporters of Referendum I and those who favor Amendment 43.

Young people heavily support Referendum I (70 percent of those under age 35), whereas older voters strongly favor Amendment 43 (64 percent of those age 65 and older).

Republicans tend to favor Amendment 43 (76 percent) while Democrats and independents support Referendum I (67 percent of independents and 76 percent of Democrats).

Education levels matter, too.

More than two out of three voters with a post-graduate degree support Ref I, whereas almost equal numbers of voters with a high school degree or less show the strongest support for Amendment 43.

Where repondents live also makes a difference.

Denver voters show the strongest support for Referendum I (75 percent) and the strongest opposition to Amendment 43 (63 percent).

It is the opposite in Colorado Springs. Those voters show the strongest support for Amendment 43 (66 percent yes and 28 percent no) and the most disapproval of Referendum I (39 percent yes and 59 percent no).

The poll also showed that voters who know a gay or lesbian person are much more likely to support Ref I.

Alice Hildebrandt, 72, of Byers, said she used to know a few gay people.

"My experience in the past has always been that they're decent people," said the retired office manager.

A poll participant, Hildebrandt supports Ref I because gay couples love each other and deserve certain rights.

But she draws the line at marriage.

"I do not believe that it was ever meant for two of the same sex to be married," she said.

Another poll participant, Robin Mendelson, a freelance photographer and designer from Highlands Ranch, said she believes gay couples should get all the legal rights given to married couples. But she wants their union to have a different name than marriage.

Many voters say their Christian beliefs cause them to oppose legal rights for gay couples.

Tony Clements, a 63-year-old casket salesman from Lakewood, said in the poll that he opposed Ref I and supports Amendment 43 primarily because of his religion.

"I believe God created man and woman to be together for procreation," he said.

Where's the money?

AMENDMENT 43

• What is it? Ballot initiative that would restrict marriage to one man and one woman • Funding: Coloradans for Marriage, the intiative's sponsor, raised $20 in the two weeks ending Sept. 13. The group has raised slightly more than $265,000 in total. Colorado Family Action, another supporting committee, raised no cash during the same two-week period, but Focus on the Family, the issue committee's sole contributor, spent $1,269 on a Web posting and radio broadcast. Focus and its political arm have given more than $700,000 to Colorado Family Action.

REFERENDUM I

• What is it? Domestic partnership ballot measure

• Funding: Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, sponsor of the referendum, will submit its latest finance report Wednesday.

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News