# Have any referendums, anywhere, backed gay marriage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893 "2009-11-09T13:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/1 "2009-11-09T13:35:22Z")
I know in the US every public vote on gay marriage has been against it, but have referendums in other countries passed? Or, in every vote worldwide, have ‘the people’ voted against gay marriage? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/2 "2009-11-09T13:38:14Z")
Well, Spanish laws aren’t voted directly, but one of the big items in the Socialist Party’s platform 7 years ago was “legalizing same-gender marriage.” It’s one of the first things they did, too. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/3 "2009-11-09T14:35:39Z")
No, and for a very simple reason. Referenda are rare outside the U.S. In those countries that have them, they are used almost exclusively for major things like constitutional amendments. They aren’t used for things that would ordinarily be voted on by a legislature as part of its normal business. Perhaps we should note that public opinion in the U.S. has been slowly tending toward acceptance of same-sex marriage, and the percent who would accept it is close to 50% at the moment: > **[Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States)** > > Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States has significantly changed since the 1990s, and an overwhelming majority of Americans favor same-sex marriage. > Approval of same-sex marriage is higher in younger generations; among 18–34 year olds, support is near-universal. From 1988 to 2009, support for recognized same-sex marriage increased between 1% and 1.5% per year, and accelerated thereafter, rising above 50% in Pew Research Center polling for the first time in 2011. A 2022 Pub... ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/4 "2009-11-09T14:46:35Z")
Washington passed “everything but marriage” last week. ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/5 "2009-11-09T15:29:59Z")
has any referendum ever backed tradtional man-woman marriage? The answer is probably no. I think countries that adopt gay marriage do so because of the lack of equality without is, this is an equal right issue and not some policy that is left to a vote (I hope the difference is clear to all). ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/6 "2009-11-10T14:32:04Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Perhaps we should note that public opinion in the U.S. has been slowly tending toward acceptance of same-sex marriage, and the percent who would accept it is close to 50% at the moment public != voting population (especially after bombardment with false/misleading ads) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-referendums-anywhere-backed-gay-marriage/516893/7 "2009-11-10T15:14:29Z")
The percentage for the legalization of same-sex marriage for the voting in referenda has been slowly increasing. This news story notes that the percentage against same-sex marriage was 61% in 2000 and was 52% in 2008 in referenda in California: [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06marriage.html?\_r=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06marriage.html?_r=1) I’ve read that this is true in general for any issue regarding the acceptance of homosexuality. The percentage in any jurisdiction in the U.S. for any homosexuality-related issue (making homosexuality legal, accepting homosexuals as friends or relatives, making discrimination against homosexuals illegal, making same-sex marriage legal) has been changing at about 1% or 2% a year towards more acceptance of homosexuality for several decades. That is, it isn’t the same percentage in each jurisdiction, but the amount of change has been the same in each jurisdiction each year. The percentages in the referenda hasn’t been hugely different from the percentages given in polls. If one were to simply draw straight lines on charts, one would conclude that eventually all of these issues would get majorities toward acceptance of homosexuality in all jurisdictions in the U.S., and the votes on referenda would show this. Please note that I am not making any personal statements about the acceptance of homosexuality. I am discussing the statistics and nothing else. I have no interest in discussing anyone’s opinions. In any case, shouldn’t a discussion concerning your opinions about the acceptance of homosexuality be in Great Debates?