Gay marriage has least support in Alabama and Southern states – Meadville Tribune
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MONTGOMERY, Alabama — New polling released by the Human Rights Campaign — the nation’s largest civil rights organization — shows that Alabama is among just a few states with less than 50 percent support for gay marriage rights.
According to the poll of likely voters, only 49 percent of Alabamians support same-sex marriage, and Arkansas and Mississippi had lesser support for gay marriage.
While a majority of the country supports gay marriage by more than 60 percent, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee are the states that narrowly clenched 50 percent support. Sixty percent of Georgians support same-sex marriage, according to the survey.
“Marriage equality has been nothing but positive, both for the LGBTQ+ community and for our society as a whole — and that’s reflected in this polling,” said Joni Madison, Human Rights Campaign interim president.
Congress is looking to codify protections for same-sex (and interracial marriages) through the Respect for Marriage Act to prohibit states from attempting to ban such marriages.
The bill passed 267-157 in the House, and all votes against it were from Republicans, including all of Alabama and Georgia’s representatives. Forty Republicans broke party lines to vote in favor.
A vote in the Senate now awaits, but has been delayed as senators work on amendments that cater to religious freedoms in an effort to gain more Republican support.
“Same-sex marriage has been legal nationally since 2015, and in many states for years before that,” said Madison. “The joy that has emanated from thousands of weddings of couples who were previously denied the right to marry has melted many hearts. And the supposed harms that opponents of marriage equality predicted simply have not come to pass. Despite this, in the aftermath of the Dobbs ruling, many couples fear for the future of marriage equality. That’s why it is more important than ever to pass the Respect for Marriage Act and reflect the voice of the 71 percent of Americans nationwide who support marriage equality.”
The bill, if approved, would repeal and replace provisions that define marriage as between a man and a woman, and spouse as a person of the opposite sex. The bill also includes provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.
“If two men want to be together and two women want to be together, they can make a personal choice. But why did we need to change what marriage was,” said Greg Davis, Alabama Citizens Action Program. “For a long time people wanted civil unions, so civil unions came to be. … Now, it’s got to be marriage. Where does, where does it stop?”
Even after the 2015 Supreme Court decision that required states to recognize same-sex marriages, Alabama had difficulty enforcing the decision as probate judges in several counties refused to sign same-sex marriage licenses. That led to state legislators passing a law in 2019 that abolished the requirement that a marriage license be issued by a probate judge. Now, all marriages are attested to by the two parties via affidavit, and instead the marriages are recorded and documented in the court.
Many of those opposed to gay marriage base their positions on religious contexts, in which marriage is typically defined as being between a man and a woman, so it may be little surprise that states in the Bible Belt have the least support.
Davis said while the Bible addresses various issues on human existence, changing the definition of marriage from the Bible is cherry-picking other religious principles.
“…Just pick and choose the ones you like or don’t like, or agree with or don’t don’t agree with,” he said.
Recent media comments indicate that Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville may be disposed to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act. CNHI reached out to his office for comment and a spokesman referred to Tuberville’s comments in a Huffington Post interview. Tuberville said he sees no need for “legislating” on gay marriage, and is quoted saying, “I’m all about, live life the way you want to. It’s a free country.”
Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby could not be reached for comment.
In Alabama, more than 3 percent of its population identify as LGBT, according to Gallup Daily. Georgia’s LGBT population is estimated at 4.5 percent.
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