Poll: Amendment starts with a lead
Durham’s Public Policy Polling released a new poll on the proposed anti-LGBT constitutional amendment, the first since the legislature approved its placement on the May 8, 2012, ballot. If voted on now, according to the firm, the amendment would pass 61 percent with only 34 percent opposed. They say their new poll’s results are a “classic example of how small differences in poll question wording can lead to huge differences in how people respond.” Last month, they asked generally about relationship recognition for same-sex couples. This month, they formed the question with the language that will appear on ballots. “You’re asking about the same thing in both cases, but the semantics make a huge difference and Republicans clearly know what they’re doing with the language that’s on the ballot,” the firm says. See the full poll results here.
N.C., Minnesota amendments
San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter discusses North Carolina’s and Minnesota’s anti-LGBT amendment initiatives. Read reporter’s Seth Hemmelgarn’s full write-up…
Marriage Equality: For white people only?
Maya Rupert, federal policy director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, discusses at The Huffington Post both the intersections and perceived differences between the ways in which black and white people might view movements for marriage equality. “We must talk about marriage equality in terms that acknowledge a broader fight for family recognition and strengthen the natural alliance between communities of color and the LGBT community,” she concludes.
Amendment sparks church debates
The University of North Carolina’s Daily Tar Heel tackles the question of how churches are handling the impending anti-LGBT constitutional amendment initiative. Writer Estes Gould speaks with openly gay North Carolina Council of Churches President Stan Kimer and anti-gay activist Ron Baity, pastor of Forsyth County’s Berean Baptist Church.