I just received a poll robocall, which kindly identified itself as paid for and sponsored by the so-called "National Organization for Marriage."
They describe their mission as "to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it", but if you read their website it becomes apparent that their sole action agenda is to prevent or repeal the legal recognition of same-sex marriages. If you're not familiar with NOM, check it out at http://www.nationformarriage.org/
The poll consisted of just two questions. The first asked if I am a registered DC voter. The second was a question which I can only assume is intentionally worded weirdly in order to generate a huge number of false positive responses.
As near as I can remember (so please do a fact-check if possible), this is the wording:
"Do you believe that marriage between only one man and one woman should be legal in the District of Columbia?"
The question seems to have nothing to do with same-sex marriage. It seems to be asking whether all different-sex marriages in DC should be legal or the opposite. But what is the opposite of "legal"? I can think of 4 ideas, and probably most people polled will think of something similar: (1.) weddings in DC will no longer have any legal standing, but marriages performed elsewhere will; (2.) all married couples in DC [or (3.) only those couples who were married in the District], will lose any legal rights or advantages that they presently have under DC law over a pair of unmarried co-habitors; or (4.) that different-sex marriage will be made a criminal offense in DC in the manner of Virginia's former miscegenation law.
Many people will hear this question, think "of course different-sex marriage should remain legal in DC," and answer "yes."
Given NOM's action agenda, it seems 99.9% likely that they will claim their poll represents DC residents' opposition to same-sex marriage. Quite possibly their previous polls included similarly deceptive or confusing language. Apparently this was the case for a Rhode Island poll: http://www.projo.com/...
Here are NOM's own accounts (from their website) of previous polls they have conducted:
"The majority of voters in NY-23 oppose gay marriage:
52 percent oppose gay marriage
35 percent favor gay marriage
13 percent responded "don’t know/refuse."
Half of Hoffman’s supporters (50%) say that Dede Scozzafava’s support for the legalization of same-sex marriage was a factor in their decision not to support her. Similarly, 45% of Hoffman’s supporters say that his position on same-sex marriage was a factor in their decision to vote for him. Only 11% of Owens voters say his position on same-sex marriage was a factor in their decision to support him."
"NOM's poll in two swing senate districts in New Jersey found that no more than 2 percent of voters consider gay marriage one of their top three legislative priorities for this lame-duck session. Why would politicians follow defeated Gov. Jon Corzine's lead off this particular cliff?"
"NOM also asked likely voters whether they favor or oppose same-sex marriages. Gay marriage remains a surprisingly contentious issue. Six years after legalization, less than half of Massachusetts voters say they favor same-sex marriage (45 percent), with 35 percent saying they oppose gay marriage, and a very large 19 percent of voters either saying they do not know, or refuse to answer the question."