Massachusetts Marriage Equality Works Survey Report

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. President Barack Obama, Inaugural Address

In his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama called on the nation to live up to its ideals by recognizing that all of its people are equal and should be free to pursue their personal happiness – without facing discrimination and being treated as second-class citizens. When it comes to the issue of marriage rights for gay and lesbian Americans, the voters of Massachusetts agree. Five years after the first marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in Massachusetts, a large majority of the state’s voters believe that marriage equality has been good for the state.

A recent statewide poll of voters in Massachusetts

found that support for marriage equality has increased 10 percentage points since 2005. Moreover, 70 percent of voters believe that married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts should have equal access to protections and benefits provided to other married couples by the federal government, such as Social Security survivor benefits. Massachusetts voters believe that allowing gay and lesbian couples to obtain state marriage licenses and enjoy the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage has benefited society as whole. According to the survey, voters believe that the state has benefited from marriage equality because: 

Massachusetts is living up to its values of equality and fairness.



Marriage is an important foundation of a healthy society.



More people are making long-term commitments and taking responsibility for each other. 2

 



More couples are building families and raising children, which promotes the common good.



Children

raised

by

gay

and

lesbian

couples

have

the

same

legal

protections as other children.

In the only state where marriage equality has been a reality for a significant period of time, most people believe that society is stronger. Marriage equality promotes society’s

most

fundamental

values

–

equality,

fairness,

responsibility

and

commitment – and allows more people to pursue their full measure of happiness.

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Background

May 17, 2009, marks the fifth anniversary of the day when Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to issue civil marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The state stopped discriminating against gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses when the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that gay and lesbian couples should have equal access to the protections, benefits and obligations of marriage. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall “affirmed the dignity and equality of all individuals,” noting that “the exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society.” After the court’s ruling in November 2003, only 50 of the 200 members of the state legislature and a slim majority of voters supported marriage equality in this largely Catholic state. Following the court ruling, opponents of equality made repeated attempts to amend the Massachusetts Constitution and take away marriage rights from same-sex couples. In response, equal marriage advocates mobilized tens of thousands of supporters, helped to elect dozens of pro-equality legislators and, over the course of four years, beat back multiple attempts to write discrimination into the state constitution. In June 2007, the last discriminatory amendment was defeated by a vote of 151–45 in the legislature.

Marriage rights are safe in

Massachusetts for the foreseeable future. Today, more than 10,000 gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts are legally married and enjoy all the rights, responsibilities and protections – from hospital visitation rights to shared health care benefits – that come with a civil marriage license. As a result, same-sex couples and their families are more secure – and the fact that more people can get married and raise families has made society stronger.

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Key Findings of a Statewide Voter Survey To understand voter perceptions five years after marriage equality was established in Massachusetts, MassEquality commissioned a poll of the state’s voters.

The results are

based on a survey of 600 voters in Massachusetts conducted by Lake Research Partners from April 5–8, 2009. The poll has a margin of error of 4 ± percentage points.

Society is stronger because more couples are taking responsibility and making long-term commitments. The vast majority of Massachusetts voters – 74 percent – believe that marriage equality has benefited society because it means that more couples are taking responsibility and making long-term commitments to each other. These are seen as important values for a strong society. Do you agree or disagree that the following outcome has surfaced because gay and lesbian couples can legally marry:

Marriage encourages responsibility and commitment, which are important values for a strong society. It’s better for society that more couples are taking responsibility and making long-term commitments to each other.

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It’s better for society overall that more people are getting married. By a margin of 2-to-1, Massachusetts voters agree that allowing same-sex couples to wed is better for society overall. Voters believe that marriage is an important part of a strong and healthy society, so it’s good for society that equal marriage rights allow more people to get married.

Do you agree or disagree that the following outcome has surfaced because gay and lesbian couples can legally marry:

Marriage is an important foundation of a healthy society, so it’s better for society overall that more people are getting married.

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Marriage equality promotes the common good by encouraging more people to build families and raise children. Since the state began granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, thousands of gay and lesbian couples have wed. Many are raising children. Nearly 70 percent of voters believe that marriage equality has contributed to the common good because it has encouraged more people to build families and raise children.

Do you agree or disagree that the following outcome has surfaced because gay and lesbian couples can legally marry:

Marriage promotes the common good by building families and raising children, so it’s better for Massachusetts that more couples can get married and raise families.

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Children raised by gay and lesbian couples are more secure. Marriage rights for parents provide a more secure and stable family environment for their children. Voters agree by a margin of 3-to-1 that the children of gay and lesbian couples are more secure, because they have the same legal protections as children in other families.

Do you agree or disagree that the following outcome has surfaced because gay and lesbian couples can legally marry:

Children raised by gay and lesbian couples now have the same legal protections as children in other families.

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Voters believe marriage equality helps Massachusetts live up to its values. A state rich with diversity and tradition, Massachusetts has long been committed to respecting the dignity of all people. The Massachusetts Constitution is the oldest in the country. Since 1780, it has promised that all citizens will be treated equally. By a margin of more than 2-to-1, voters agree that marriage equality has brought the state one step closer to fulfilling that promise of equality and fairness for everyone.

Do you agree or disagree that the following outcome has surfaced because gay and lesbian couples can legally marry:

Massachusetts is living up to its values when it comes to equality and fairness.

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Marriage equality should be protected. After years of public debate and actual experience, support for marriage equality has increased by ten percentage points in Massachusetts.

Today, 62 percent of

Massachusetts residents oppose amending the state constitution to take away civil marriage rights – compared to 52 percent who opposed amending the constitution in 2005.

If there were an election, would you vote yes or no on a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would ban gay marriage?

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Massachusetts couples should have access to federal marriage benefits. Same-sex couples married in Massachusetts are treated the same as other married couples by the state – but they are denied more than 1,000 rights and benefits provided by the federal government. For example, gay or lesbian couples who pay full Social Security taxes do not get the same survivor benefits as other married couples. By a margin of 70-25 percent, voters believe that married gay and lesbian couples should have access to the same federal benefits as other married couples.

Should married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts receive all the same benefits from the federal government as other married couples, such as being able to file joint tax returns or get Social Security survivor benefits?

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