Marriage Equality Rhode Island

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What Rhode Island Thinks

A recent survey of Rhode Island voters shows steady support since 2006 for legalizing same-sex marriage. Moreover, support for the specific marriage equality bill facing RI’s General Assembly also remains strong and stable.

Voters favor legalizing same-sex marriage

Nearly half of Rhode Island voters (49 percent) favor marriage rights for same-sex couples, compared to only 37 percent who oppose marriage equality. This support has remained stable since 2006 when voters supported same-sex marriage 45 percent to 39 percent. Furthermore, strong support for allowing same-sex marriage has held steady as well, with a quarter of voters continuing to “strongly favor” marriage equality.

A plurality of Catholic voters favor equal marriage for same-sex couples

Forty-five percent of Catholic voters favor allowing same-sex couples to marry legally, compared to 37 percent who oppose equal marriage.

Support for Rhode Island’s marriage equality law remains solid

A plurality of voters, 47 percent, support the marriage equality bill facing the General Assembly that would provide equal access to marriage while exempting churches from being required to perform same-sex ceremonies. Support for the bill enjoys a 9-point margin over the opposition (47 percent in support, 38 percent opposed), an improvement of 5 points since 2006 when the bill garnered 45 percent in support to 41 percent opposed.

Candidates’ positions on same-sex marriage have little impact on re-election

Voters report that candidates’ stances on other issues, especially improving the economy and jobs, will be more influential in their vote. A candidate’s position on gay marriage ranks last as a determining factor in voters’ decisions behind issues such as the economy and jobs (88 percent “very important” issue), government spending (71 percent), reforming health care (70 percent), reducing crime (69 percent), and education spending (69 percent). Only twenty-six percent of Rhode Island voters say a candidate’s position on same-sex marriage is very important in their choice of candidate and nearly half (46 percent) say it is very or somewhat important.

Voters under forty years of age are the most likely to support legalizing same-sex marriage

Two thirds (67 percent) of voters under age 40 favor allowing same-sex marriage (36 percent strongly favor). Likewise, 59 percent of these younger voters favor the marriage equality bill.

Methodology

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc. designed and administered this telephone survey conducted by professional interviewers. The survey reached 500 likely voters in Rhode Island and was conducted July 16-22, 2008. The data were weighted by gender, age, education, and region to ensure an accurate reflection of the population. The sample size with these weights applied is 500. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 4.4 percent.

The 2006 survey also reached 500 likely voters in Rhode Island. It was conducted April 6-9, 2006. This survey also carries a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.