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About eight out of 10 Republican voters strongly believe marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman, a new poll from Wilson Research Strategies finds.
The poll, commissioned by the Family Research Council and American Values, was conducted March 18 to 20, just before Brendan Eich’s forced resignation as CEO of Mozilla Corp. sparked a national debate about the intolerance of many advocates of same-sex marriage.
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“Whoever declared an end to the marriage debate must not have consulted Republicans,” Tony Perkins, Family Research Council’s president, wrote about the poll. “While the media is busy eulogizing one of the hottest issues of the last 15 years, those who vote for GOP candidates are saying, ‘not so fast!’”
Overall, 82 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed agree that marriage “should be defined only as a union between one man and one woman,” the poll shows. Among them, 74 percent strongly agree with that definition.
A total of 801 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were surveyed; the margin of error was 3.5 percent.
GOP voters also voiced displeasure with politicians who want to redefine marriage. Three out of four Republicans don’t want lawmakers to change the definition of marriage, the poll finds.
“The Washington establishment constantly argues that conservative principles need to be sacrificed for electoral gain,” Mike Needham, chief executive of Heritage Action for America, told The Foundry. “On the issue of marriage, the situation is no different. The GOP should not shrink from its convictions. Instead, they should have the courage to articulate them to the American people.”
A recent poll from Rasmussen revealed that Americans were split on the issue, with 43 percent opposed and 43 percent in favor of same-sex marriage.
“Clearly,” Perkins wrote, “the vast majority of the GOP continues to see marriage [as] a non-negotiable plank of the national platform and want to see their elected officials uphold it as the standard to stand for, encourage, and promote in law.”
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.
