While not the number one campaign issue, Gay marriage may make the difference is the upcoming November election. President Obama’s recent position change, evolution, flip-flop, has had some Pennsylvanians rethinking their party affiliation.
One of Blair County’s prominent Democrats, Jo Ann Nardelli, said Wednesday she has switched her voter registration to Republican because she can no longer support Democratic initiatives like same sex marriage.
Obama’s switcharoo on Gay marriage combined with the HHS mandates stirring up a hornets nest of opposition from within the Catholic church and other religious communities could combine into a perfect storm to make these “social issues” front and center in November.
Consider that approximately 63% of Pennsylvanians belong to a religious organization that believes in traditional marriage between one man and one woman.
Theology aside, acceptance of Gay marriage is on the rise in PA, especially in the African American communities according to PPP.
President Obama’s announcement that he supports same-sex marriage is rapidly shifting the opinions of black voters around the country; PPP has found this already in North Carolina and nationally. Nearly all of the slight movement in Pennsylvania toward acceptance of same-sex marriage since PPP last polled on the issue in November is with black voters. Whereas only 36% of all Pennsylvanians thought gay marriage should be legal and 52% illegal last fall, now that is a 39-48 spread. That is because African Americans have moved from being against it by a strong margin (34-52) to being split, 42-41 for it.
All that to say Religion could again play a significant role in Penn’s Woods.
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