New poll shows Scotland opposed to 'gay marriage'

Glasgow, Scotland, Mar 15, 2012 / 02:13 am

The majority of Scots do not support legal recognition of “gay marriage,” according to a recently conducted poll in the country.

“I hope that the Scottish Government will consider these findings very carefully and accept that objections to their proposals are not primarily religious but exist widely across society among people of all faiths and none,” a spokesman for the Scotland for Marriage campaign said March 14.

“There is clearly no support whatsoever for a society which creates in law a situation which deliberately deprives a child of a mother or a father.”

The Opinion Research Business' January 2012 survey asked 1,004 Scottish adults to agree or disagree with the statement, “Since gay and lesbian couples already have the same rights as married couples available to them under civil partnership, they should not be allowed to redefine marriage for everyone else.”

Fifty-three percent of respondents agreed, while 36 percent disagreed.

“There simply is not majority support for this very contentious and divisive issue,” the the Scotland for Marriage spokesman added.

“This is not a religious matter and assurances given to religious bodies will do nothing to comfort the majority, most of whom are not religious, who do not support same sex marriage.”

The findings showed that around 69 percent of respondents agreed that the ideal situation for a child is to be raised by a married mother and a father, while 29 percent disagreed.

Other poll questions concerned how defenders of traditional marriage are viewed.

About 71 percent of respondents disagreed that someone who defends traditional marriage is “discriminating against gays and lesbians.” Only 21 percent agreed.

Eighty-five percent agreed that it is possible to be tolerant of the rights of others and protective of traditional marriage at the same time, while only nine percent disagreed.

Respondents were almost evenly split over whether people feel intimidated into saying they support same-sex marriage because it is “politically correct.”

They were similarly divided on whether the debate to legalize “gay marriage” is a distraction from the recession and other political priorities, like independence for Scotland.

Supporters of the Scotland for Marriage campaign include both religious and non-religious groups: the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, the Evangelical Alliance, the Christian Institute, CARE for Scotland and the Family Education Trust, among others.

More information can be found on the Scotland for Marriage website at: http://scotlandformarriage.org.