Poll- Missouri favors ban on gay marriage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A majority of Missourians favor a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, according to a new poll.

The poll, commissioned by The Kansas City Star and KMBC-TV, found that 62 percent of respondents would vote in favor of the amendment; 29 percent would vote against it; 8 percent were undecided; and 1 percent said they would not vote on the issue.

"It fits with the overall conservative nature of the state," said George Connor, a political scientist at Southwest Missouri State University. "There's not a lot of middle ground on this. There aren't a lot of undecideds."

Market Research Institute surveyed 600 Missouri residents for the poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The proposed amendment says, "That to be valid and recognized in this state, a marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman."

Pollsters asked respondents, "Missourians in the August primary will vote on the adoption of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state. If the election were being held today, how would you vote on the amendment?"

"That's very encouraging news," said Vicky Hartzler, spokeswoman for the Missouri Coalition to Protect Marriage, upon hearing the poll results. "It shows that 71 percent oppose gay marriage strongly or somewhat. People in Missouri don't want to see traditional marriage thrown out for an untested social experiment."

But Doug Gray, campaign manager for the Constitution Defense League, which opposes the amendment, criticized the poll for not including the actual ballot language in its question.

Gray said he recognizes that opponents have a lot of work to do. His organization plans to start paid advertising in the next two weeks.

"When voters learn we already have a law that bans gay marriage in Missouri, our numbers move significantly," Gray said.

Almost half of the poll respondents, or 46 percent, said there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship. Thirty-three percent said gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry. Only 14 percent said gay couples should be allowed to legally marry; 7 percent said they did not know or had no answer.

Sal Bonsignore, 61, a retired elevator technician from Gladstone, opposes gay marriage.

Bonsignore said he knew there already was a law prohibiting gay marriage, but he said a constitutional amendment was necessary to keep "crazy liberal judges" from allowing same-sex marriages.

But Sonja Adib, 66, of St. Louis, opposes the amendment and said she would favor civil unions for gay couples.

"I think gays, if they have long-term relationships just like heterosexuals, should have some long-standing protections," said Adib, a retired telephone company worker. "They should be able to buy a house together."