A new Equality Texas poll shows a slim majority of Lone Star voters supporting marriage equality.
You read that correctly. A Texan majority for marriage.
The poll shows 47.9% in favor, 47.5% opposed. That’s a tremendous shift from 2010, when only 42.7% supported equality and 52.7% opposed. A solid majority of 52% say the state should recognize legal marriages from other jurisdictions. An unbelievable 64.7% support civil unions, and an overwhelming 90.9% support hospital visitation rights.
If these numbers seem too good to be true – and if you’ve ever spent time in Texas, you’re probably sharing that perception – well, they might be. It’s a poll commissioned by an LGBT rights organization with a fairly small sample size and a margin of +/- 3.1%.
But don’t despair – an objective poll from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune supports those numbers, or at least the general trend. That poll shows 37% of Texans supporting marriage, 28% supporting only civil unions, and only 28% saying neither – for a total of 65% in favor of relationship recognition for same-sex couples, 28% opposed, and 7% uncertain.
Of course, the Texas legislature is still dominated by the far Right thanks to a couple decades of gerrymandering. And neither marriage nor civil unions can advance until the state constitutional ban is repealed.
But thinking back to the day when that ban passed by a popular vote of 76.25%, I can’t help feel my spirits rise. That was less than eight years ago. The finish line is really in sight, y’all.
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Y’all have some great news here. I’m with you Travis…what a change and positive sweet shift.