The success of Barack Obama in getting to the White House has been partly down to his ability to tap into group concerns within the general population without alianating other groups at the same time and his astute use of technology and other means for getting to the heart of what concerns people most. The recent American exit polls are an important source for identifying who exactly voted for Proposition 8 in California. If lingering predjudice is to be tackled in the United States advocates for change need to reach the right people and support some of those communities that voted for proposition 8 where they too are fighting their own battle for equality. It is suggested that this is essential if one is to have any hope of gaining increased support for gay rights in the future and a change in the White House provides a real opportunity and hope for the future.
Categories in favour of gay marriage were white, young, well educated liberals, especially women. Young, (eighteen to twenty nine year old) white men and Latinos also stood out frojm the statistics. Older Latino’s were less favourable, the majority of whom (53%) voted for a ban on gay marriage. A slight majority (51%) of Asians were aginst the ban on gay marriage.
The categories voting for a ban on gay marriage that stood out from the results of the exit survey were African-Americans, especially women and Christians, Catholic and Protestant with almost two thirds of this group voting for the ban. Ninety percent of voters who were not religious voted against Proposition 8. No less than 70% of African Americans, (10% of the respondents) voted for a ban on gay marriage. Another significant category who voted for a ban on gay marriage in California were citizens, both black and white, whose education was limited to their high school diploma.
Not surprisingly perhaps 80% of white Democrats voted against proposition 8 and an equal number of white Republicans voted for Proposition 8. Altogether sixty four percent, almost two thirds of Democrats voted against Proposition 8 while only eighteen percent of Republicans voted against Proposition 8. Sixty two percent of first time voters, (14% of respondents) voted against Prposition 8 also and since first time voters tend to be in the 18 to 29 year old cohort, this is not surprising. The majority of Independents, who featured prominently in the Californian election, also voted against Proposition 8, especially white Independent voters. Political affiliation and voter status therefore mirror the previous age and race related findings. Finally urban voters, that is to say those living amongst diverse, densly populated communities were most likely to vote against Proposition 8.
This all suggests that, in the main, the better educated voters were and the better off voters were the more likely voters were to be in favour of gay marriage. Voters who were members of a minority racial group such as African-Americans and Latinos often suffering themselves from predjudice and / or disadvantage were more likely to vote against gay marriage. Interestingly the majority of the very poor and the very rich tended to vote against Proposition 8 except in the case of African-American voters who voted in favour of proposition 8. The very poor might be explained away by large numbers of young whites who would be on a reduced income while studying and on a lower salary in their twenties. Those respondents who voted against gay marriage tended to make up their minds in October or early November, indeed something happened in mid-October to disuade many voters to vote against gay marriage and this needs to be looked at closely as there was a sizable move in voter decision making for proposition 8 around this time. Voter decision making needs to be examined more closely in terms of race and education. It may be that the less well educated and less well off responded to conservative rhetoric and sound bites rather than looking at the issues in a more enlightened way as most open-minded educated voters might do? Those voting for Proposition 8 were most likely not to have a full-time job, be married with children and come from outer suburban or rural parts of the State where a sense of homogenous community, family values, religious fervor and an intolerance of all things ‘Other’ are more likely to be prevelant.
With Obama in the White House there should be a real opportunity for change. Poverty and discrimination among African-Americans and Latinos will need to be tackled along with a greater degree of educational and economic opportunities for all races from disadvantaged backgrounds. We need to learn from Obama’s methods far reaching out to others in the most appropriate way and his choice of words when addressing different interest groups, ensuring that gay advocates don’t alienate other groups while not compromising too much on gay demands. My suggestion is that gay communities, especially in California and other States in The Union need to consider reaching out to help other disadvantaged minorities and to do so in a careful systemic and strategic way, to take a leaf out of Barack Obamah’s book. I believe that only through help and education of other minorities, from the Government yes but also from the Gay Community, can there be any hope for moving gay rights further in the right direction.
Statistics source: CNN.com.