Editor’s note: This is another in a series of “WND/WENZEL POLLS” conducted exclusively for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.
The lobbyists for homosexual “rights” undoubtedly soon will be decrying the “bigots” in America, but a new national poll indicates that nearly one in four registered voters considers the homosexual lifestyle “sinful” and another group nearly the same size defines it as “aberrant and destructive.”
And still another nearly 10 percent say it is “aberrant.”
The results are from the latest WND/Wenzel Poll conducted exclusively for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.
The scientific telephone survey, conducted March 10-13, has a margin of error of 3.72 percentage points.
It reveals that a majority of voters still reject the idea of homosexual “marriage,” and it also uncovers the underlying cause for the nation’s discomfort with the idea. It shows that 20 percent of Republicans now are on board with the agenda. And 17 percent GOP members “strongly agree” with the idea that legislatures should rid their states of such language.
“Our polling on the subject shows that Americans are increasingly split on the question of gay marriage, but that the majority still believe laws against such unions should stand,” Wenzel said in his analysis.
“Half of those surveyed – 50 percent – said they are opposed to courts overturning laws that ban gay marriage, and 54 percent said they are opposed to state lawmakers overturning such laws.”
The results came in response to the question “What is your opinion of homosexuality?” Nearly 24 percent said they consider it “sinful,” including a surprising 17 percent of those who self-identified the Democratic Party.
Another 22.3 percent, including 14.8 percent of the Democrats, said it was both aberrant and destructive and yet another 9.5 percent defined homosexuality as “an aberrant lifestyle.”
Twelve percent called it a “preferred” lifestyle and another 32 percent said it is equally valid.
A surprising 23.2 percent of those who identify themselves as “progressive” still defined it as a sin.
Nearly 60 percent said they disagreed with or were unsure about the idea that state courts should be overturning state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
And an even higher percentage, by a few points, said they disagreed with or were uncertain about the idea of state legislatures changing those laws and definitions.
“Not surprisingly, liberals and progressives are much more likely to favor the reversal of established laws and constitutional amendments the ban gay marriage. The political left has often used the judicial system to accomplish what could not be done in the legislative arena,” Wenzel said.
“Yet, more Americans than not do not believe that the ban on gay marriage amounts to a denial of civil rights to those who live alternate lifestyles. While 48 percent said they do not believe that gays and lesbians suffer from a denial of civil rights, 39 percent said that they did. Another 13 percent said they were not sure on the question,” he said.
Nearly two of three respondents think the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which recognizes only a marriage between one man and one woman for federal government purposes, should stand.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Barack Obama last year announced they simply would not defend the existing federal law, even though the Justice Department is responsible to do exactly that.
Fifty-four percent said they “strongly agree” with the idea that the law should be continued, and another 8.99 percent said they agreed.
On the issue of Obama’s decision to leave the law undefended when it is challenged in court (Congress has taken up the responsibility Obama and Holder dropped), 45 percent said Obama and Holder are following the wrong path, and another 11 percent were unsure.
Some 52 percent said the impact – culturally, socially and spiritually – of redefining marriage to include homosexual duos is negative.
And there was a deep divide over the consistency of laws from state to state, with nearly 51 percent saying that states should not be forced to recognize “same-sex” couples from other states. Forty-two percent said states should not be allowed to make a choice but should be forced into recognizing that social category.
“While … that data point might demonstrate that Americans are more accepting of alternative lifestyles than they were a generation ago, they clearly do not believe that gay marriage should be imposed on those who do not believe it is proper,” Wenzel said.
“The survey shows simply that while a substantial percentage of Americans favor gay marriage, the majority still believes it to be wrong and they want laws to remain in place. Efforts to subvert or reverse these laws are likely to meet with very negative responses,” Wenzel said.
The fight over the issue has become more heated as Obama advocates more strongly for his agenda of promoting alternative lifestyles.
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights issued a stunning decision that in France the government has the right to prevent homosexual duos from adopting their partner’s child or children.
The U.S. military in embroiled in what could be a self-destructive fight after Congress followed Obama’s plan to impose open homosexuality on the institution after it was banned for more than two centuries.
In the military, there is a campaign to preserve and confirm the rights of chaplains to hold and teach a biblical perspective on homosexuality. The alternative, which is what the administration appears to be pursuing, would censor such religious beliefs.
The battle even has cut to the basic rights of citizens to determine their own government. In California, a homosexual judge ruled that voters there were not allowed to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.
That battle appears to be heading toward the U.S. Supreme Court. It also generated a multitude of threats against those who hold the biblical perspective regarding homosexuality from “gay” advocates, who condemn the other side’s religious belief as “bigoted” and “hate.”
See detailed results of survey questions:
What is your opinion of homosexuality?
