CHARLESTON, West Virginia, February 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Poll results released Wednesday revealed that 78 percent of registered Democrat voters in West Virginia agree that marriage should be defined as one man and one woman, announced the Family Policy Council of West Virginia (FPCWV).
The poll, which FPCWV commissioned last month, surveyed 10,000 homes statewide.
When asked whether lawmakers should allow a judge to redefine marriage or invalidate West Virginia’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 84 percent of registered Democrats said that voters, not judges, should define marriage.
“Democrat voters in West Virginia want to vote to preserve marriage as one man and one woman,” said Jeremy Dys, president and general counsel of the FPCWV. “It is the responsibility of our legislators to protect every West Virginian’s right to vote on this issue.”
The poll also addressed one of the concerns often raised by Democrat lawmakers: that placing a marriage protection amendment on any ballot would cost Democrats seats in the state legislature. Yet, the poll also reveals that more than 65 percent of registered Democrat voters would vote to re-elect sponsors of such a measure.
Whether on a special or general election ballot, 75 percent of Democrat voters said they would vote to define marriage as one man and one woman.
“It’s ironic, the very process used to put lawmakers in office is now being denied to voters when it comes to the definition of marriage,” said Dys. “Voters are weary of the silent opposition to marriage of the majority party. By its silence, the legislature is holding the Constitution of the State of West Virginia hostage from the very people to whom it belongs.”
During this year’s legislative session, the FPCWV has been urging lawmakers to pass a resolution allowing voters to settle the legal definition of marriage, as 30 other states have already done. If passed, the resolution would provide for a special election where voters would be asked to affirm the definition of marriage.
The FPCWV’s proposal states: “Only a union between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in West Virginia.”
In a rare convention of the Committee on Constitutional Revision, Democratic Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer allowed committee members to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment regarding taxes, but refused to place the marriage protection amendment on the agenda.
Meanwhile, members of the state House and the Senate were expected to be provided a recommendation on the marriage protection amendment at the outset of the 2010 legislative session. However, the joint subcommittee (chaired by Sen. Herb Snyder and Del. Bonnie Brown) made no recommendation, after studying the issue for over a year.
“There is no legitimate reason not to allow the people of West Virginia to debate and vote on this issue,” concluded Dys. “Representative democracy means listening to your constituents when they ask to govern themselves.”
The poll was released Tuesday on the FPCWV’s project website, www.wv4marriage.com.