2003 New Hampshire marriage poll

23 May 2003

Concord, NH - According to a new poll, 54% of New Hampshire residents are in favor of "a law that will allow the state to issue civil marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples", while 42% oppose.

The poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center as part of the regularly conducted Granite State Poll. The poll interviewed 509 New Hampshire adults on April 11-22, 2003 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4%. The portion dealing with same sex marriage was commissioned by the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition.

The poll also found that:

84% personally know someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual
71% believe that "a gay or lesbian person can fall in love with someone of the same sex in the same way that opposite sex couples fall in love."

Additionally, the poll found broad support for extending many of the specific benefits of marriage to same sex couples:

88% say that same sex couples should have the same hospital visitation rights as close relatives
85% say that a same sex spouse should be allowed to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner
70% say that same sex couples should have automatic inheritance rights without inheritance taxes
68% say that same sex couples should have the same pension and social security benefits as married couples
78% say that same sex couples should be allowed family medical leave time from work to care for an ill spouse.

"This is fantastic news!" said Lisa Beelle, Co-Chair of NH Freedom to Marry Coalition. "Understanding where New Hampshire citizens stand on the issues is an important part of making civil marriage for same sex couples a reality in this great state. New Hampshire has traditionally valued individual freedoms and this poll is further proof of that."

The results are similar to a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll conducted in March 2003 which found that 50% of Massachusetts residents support same sex marriage while 44% oppose.

A May 2003 national poll conducted by the Gallup organization found 49% in favor of "a law that would allow homosexual couples to legally form civil unions, giving them some of the legal rights of married couples". It also found that 62% support "the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples regarding healthcare benefits and Social Security survivor benefits."

According to the New Hampshire poll, support for same sex marriage is directly related to age. Younger respondents were much more likely than older respondents to support such legislation. Among adults age 18 to 29, 70% support same sex marriage while 64% of adults over 70 years of age are opposed.

There were also strong differences based on sex. 65% of women support same sex marriage compared to 30% who oppose. Men, however, were more divided with 43% supporting and 54% opposing.

Married people were more likely to support (50%) than oppose (44%) same sex marriage.

Protestants and Catholics were both evenly divided with half supporting same sex marriage and half opposing.

The poll was funded by a grant from the Human Rights Campaign Equality Fund and from individual donors.