A Record Number Of Voters Support Gay Marriage, New Poll Finds

A Record Number Of Voters Support Gay Marriage, New Poll Finds
A record number of voters now support gay marriage, a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday found.

The poll shows that an all-time high 59 percent of American voters support same-sex marriage — nearly double the amount of voters who supported it in 2004. Support has also increased among conservative voters, with 35 percent now saying they back same-sex marriage, an increase of 9 percentage points from April 2013.

Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster who conducted the survey with Republican Bill McInturff, told the Wall Street Journal that support for gay marriage was increasing among voters faster than attitudes towards interracial marriage, now supported by 87 percent of Americans.

Despite the increase in support among conservatives, the poll found that it’s still unclear how a GOP candidate’s position on same-sex marriage would affect their chances with the electorate. Fifty percent of Republican primary voters said that they would view a candidate who supported gay marriage less favorably, while just 19 percent said that they would view the candidate more favorably.

Republicans seem to be taking a somewhat softer tone on gay marriage, and the party’s 2016 hopefuls recently have seemed reluctant to talk about the issue.

The poll comes as courts consider the legal fate of gay marriage. Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges in the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses even though a federal judge ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court will consider next month whether state bans on same-sex marriage violate the Constitution.

The NBC-WSJ poll, conducted March 1-5, surveyed 1,000 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/09/gay-marriage-support_n_6835710.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

This Married Father’s Gay Affair Is Tearing His Family Apart

This Married Father’s Gay Affair Is Tearing His Family Apart

57437537Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

A U.K. woman says she doesn’t know what to do after her father admitted to having an affair on her mother with another man.

“Last year my father told my mother he was gay and had had an affair with a family friend for 18 months,” the daughter recently wrote in to U.K. advice columnist Mariella Frostrup. “My mother wants a full explanation of what happened, who he really is, and what he wants. My dad feels responsible for my mum as he has been the primary earner during their marriage.”

The problem now, the daughter explains, is that her father doesn’t earn enough to support both himself and her mother independently should they get a divorce. On top of that, she says, “he doesn’t seem to see that his affair…was wrong.” And, as a result, the atmosphere in their home has become “poisonous.”

“For my mum,” she laments, “the idea of starting her life again on her own at the age of 65 with no income is insurmountable. I want to support her, and reach out to my dad, but he is finding it difficult to talk. He needs to admit that what he did was wrong. Can you advise me on the best way to support both of them?”

Never fear. Mariella Frostrup has the solution.

“Having an affair is certainly not to be applauded,” the advice columnist replies, “but if your father has waited this long to succumb to his natural desires then he also deserves your respect. I’m presuming he too is in his mid-60s and that’s a very long time to wait to express your full sexuality.”

She continues: “I sympathize with your mother’s need for an apology and to ascertain just who she’s been living with for the past four decades, but my suspicion is he’s exactly the man she thought he was. Secret fantasies and longings are part of being human and, though your sexual preference is an ingredient of who you are, it doesn’t offer the full picture.”

Word.

“I’d be very surprised if your father feels guilt-free about his affair,” Frostrup concludes, “but I also imagine those feelings are laced with a degree of liberation at summoning the courage to reveal himself in an honest way. The only way you can find out for sure is by letting him know you want to talk to him in a non-judgmental way to find out how he feels about the situation.”

What words of advice would you give to the daughter in this situation? Sound off in the comments section below.

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Graham Gremore

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Michigan's Planet Fitness 'Controversy' Echoes National Debate on Trans Access

Michigan's Planet Fitness 'Controversy' Echoes National Debate on Trans Access

Yvette Cormier returned three days in a row to warn women away from the locker room, because she had seen a trans woman use it once. On the fourth day, Cormier wasn’t allowed to come back.

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Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/03/09/michigans-planet-fitness-controversy-echoes-national-debate-trans-ac