By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – A new poll has been released that shows most Alabama residents strongly disapprove of same-sex marriages. The poll shows they also oppose the alternative of civil unions.
Last week, the University of South Alabama and the Mobile Register sponsored a poll that found nearly 80 percent of respondents either disapprove or strongly disapprove of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The poll has a five-percentage-point margin of error.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force says the results of the poll are "out of sync'' with national surveys and polls in other states. The group says elsewhere similar polls have fallen into three groups ... with one-third strongly opposing gay marriages, one-third strongly favoring them and one-third in the middle.
The Christian Coalition of Alabama says polls have shown Alabama voters to be among the most conservative in the nation on economic, moral and social issues.
Last week Governor Bob Riley pressed state lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. The measure would have also outlawed same-sex marriages. Riley says he wants a vote on the amendment during the November presidential election.