A new r [1]ep [1]ort [1] released by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force this week analyzing the Prop 8 vote paints a stark picture of the work that must be done by the gay rights community to change hearts and minds. The report shows that four main factors – party affiliation, political ideology (no surprise here), frequency of attending worship services and age – drove the “yes” vote on Prop 8.
Countering the uproar that ensued in the aftermath of Prop 8’s passage after exit polls wrongly reported 70 percent of African American supported the ban, the Task Force puts African American support for the ban in the range of 57-59 percent. You may remember following the elections, People For the American Way Foundation President Kathryn Kolbert released a memo [2] explaining that blaming Black voters for passage of Prop 8 is both wrong and destructive. Fifty-nine percent isn’t the ideal, but it’s indicative of the education that must be done. Here’s a snapshot of some of the report’s other findings:
Kitty’s post-election edit memo explaining how blaming black voters for passage of Prop 8 is both wrong and destructive, continued to get plaudits from activists, including this from Alejandro Salinas on the Washingtonian blog: “Sadly after years of experiencing and observing the way race plays out within the LGBT community, I can’t say I was really surprised by the tone and targets of the rage. Thankfully, I have been encouraged by the words of David Mixner, Kathryn Kolbert at People For the American Way, and many of my personal and blogger friends who swiftly condemned this misdirected anger.”
- More than 70 percent of voters who were Republican, identified themselves as conservative, or who attended religious services at least weekly supported Proposition 8. Conversely, 70 percent or more of voters who were Democrat, identified themselves as liberal, or who rarely attended religious services opposed the measure. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of voters 65 or older supported Proposition 8, while majorities under 65 opposed it.
- When religious service attendance was factored out, however, there was no significant difference between African Americans and other groups. In other words, people of all races and ethnicities who worship at least once a week overwhelmingly supported Proposition 8, with support among white, Asian and Latino frequent churchgoers actually being greater than among African Americans.
- Overall support for marriage equality has increased by 9 percent since 2000, with support increasing among every age group under age 65, across all racial and ethnic groups and among Protestants, Catholics and Jews. There are three “holdout” groups where voting patterns have not changed: Republicans, conservatives, and those 65 and older. The largest gain — up 16 percent — was among voters 45-64 years of age, followed by a 13 percent increase among voters 18-29.