美國同性戀婚姻和持槍合法支持率上升

中國日報網 2012-04-28 08:48

Same-sex marriage supporters rally with a speaker and members of Love Honor Cherish and West Hollywood officials at a rally and march in celebration of today's appellate panel ruling striking down Proposition 8 in West Hollywood.(Agencies)

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More Americans are in favor of gay marriage, and more place the importance of gun owner rights above gun control, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

The poll’s findings indicate landmark shifts in opinion for both issues, marking the culmination of trends that have built up over the past several years.

Currently, 49% of Americans believe it’s more important to protect the rights of gun owners, and 47% are in favor of legalizing gay marriage. Though neither are a majority, those in favor of both policies outnumber those against, with 45% placing gun control above gun ownership and 43% in opposition to gay marriage.

Including data since 2003, opposition to gay marriage reached its peak in 2004, as the topic reached the forefront of the year’s campaigns, with state amendments and the possibility of constitutional prohibition building steam. But public opinion has shifted significantly, most particularly in regard to those strongly in favor and against gay marriage.

Strong opposition, ever since its peak of 38% in December 2004, had fluctuated around 30% until 2010, when it began its slow descent to its current 22%. Strong support, which was as low as 8% in 2004, has risen to equal the opposition at 22%.

The percentage drop in the opposition of gay marriage was conveniently equal in both those under the age of 30 and those at or above the age of 65, at 18%, though 56% of the older generation still are against it, compared to just 30% of their younger counterparts.

Stretching back to 1993, Pew has found a consistently sizeable plurality, if not majority, of Americans placed more importance on gun ownership, peaking at 66% in 2000. Since then, that number has seen a steady decline, hitting 49% both in 2012 and 2011.

That said, what does this shift mean for the upcoming elections? Obviously the sentiments of Americans are changing, but the implications of those changes look to be incremental in influencing the electoral results.

An earlier Pew poll found that 28% place gay marriage as “very important” to their vote, and 47% gave gun control the same weight. As has been said before, and will be said again before the polls close, it’s economy that trumps all matters, regardless of the changing tides toward gun-owning gay couples.

Pew’s survey was conducted via telephone interviews among 3,0008 adults nationwide between April 4-15, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9-3.0%.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

皮尤調查中心的投票結果顯示，越來越多的美國人支持同性戀婚姻，同時，越來越多的美國人認為持槍權利比槍械管制重要。

此次投票結果表明，在這兩個問題上民眾意見有了重大轉變，這標志著近年來形成的兩種潮流達到了頂峰。

目前，49%的美國人認為保護民眾持槍權利更為重要，同時47%的美國人支持同性婚姻合法化。雖然兩項投票結果都沒有占多數，但是支持這兩項政策的人數超過了反對的人數。其中僅45%的美國人認為槍械管制更重要，43%的人反對同性婚姻。

該調查收集了自2003年以來的數據，調查發現人們對同性戀婚姻的反對在2004年達到了高潮。受到各州修正案以及憲法可能宣布禁令的影響，反同性戀婚姻成為當年各類游行的主題。但是，公眾的意見已發生重大轉變，尤其是那些強烈支持和反對同性婚姻的人。

在2004年12月，同性婚姻的反對率達到38%的頂峰后，一直徘徊在30%左右，直到2010年，反對率開始下降至目前的22%。在2004年，堅決支持同性婚姻的比例只有8%，而目前則升至22%，與反對者人數相當。

在年齡小于30和大于65的年齡層中，同性婚姻反對率均降低了18%，盡管56%的年長一代仍然持反對態度。相較之下，年輕人群的反對率僅為30%。

追溯至1993年，皮尤調查發現，即便不是大多數，也有相當數量的美國人一直支持持槍權利，這個數字在2000年達到了頂峰，為66%。自此，這項數字一直持續降低，在2012和2011年的時候降到了49%。

那么，這種轉變對即將到來的總統大選意味著什么呢？顯然，美國人的觀點在轉變，而這些轉變中隱含的意義將越來越多地對選舉結果產生影響。

皮尤早前的一次投票顯示28%的人認為同性戀婚姻的問題會很大程度影響他們的投票，47%的人則認為槍械管制是同樣重要的影響因素。但正如之前所說，而且在調查末尾還將再次提到的，經濟因素蓋過一切，無論人們對持槍權利或同性戀婚姻的態度發生了怎樣的變化。