A widely touted Siena College poll last month found that the majority of New Yorkers support gay marriage.
This week the numbers bounced back to 46 percent to 46 percent. And in terms of strongly held views, anti-gay marriage voters outnumber pro-gay marriage voters by more than 2 to 1.
Independents and Republicans oppose gay marriage. Which may explain why Rudy Guiliani decided to voice opposition to SSM in New York:
Voters are evenly divided, 46-46 percent, on whether the Senate should pass the bill to legalize same sex marriages in New York. A majority of Democrats, young and Jewish voters support Senate passage. It is opposed by a majority of Republicans, older voters, African Americans, Protestant and Catholic voters. Last month, voters supported passage 53-39 percent. Support for passage dropped by at least 10 percentage points among independent voters, New York City voters, young voters, women, and African Americans.
“This is an issue that is getting a lot of public attention. And it is clearly an issue where voters’ opinions are shifting as they hear more and think more about it,” Greenberg said. “In the last month, support dropped seven percentage points while opposition rose by the same amount, shifting the issue from a 14-point margin of support to an issue dividing New York voters down the middle.
“While 54 percent of same sex marriage legislation supporters say they will be very (16 percent) or somewhat (38 percent) upset if the bill doesn’t pass, 76 percent of opponents of the legislation say they will be very (39 percent) or somewhat (37 percent) upset if the bill does pass,” Greenberg said. “Overwhelmingly, by a 78-15 percent margin, voters say that Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith should bring the bill to a vote, regardless of whether or not he thinks it will pass, and let all senators vote yes or no on the bill.”