The Family Policy Council of West Virginia, which is affiliated with Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and the Alliance Defense Fund, commissioned a poll of registered voters that found, lo and behold, that they would vote for an anti-gay marriage amendment:
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia has released the findings of a new poll it commissioned on the issue of marriage in West Virginia. The poll reveals significant support among West Virginia voters for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage.
“West Virginians want to define marriage for themselves,” said Jeremy Dys, the FPC’s president and general counsel. “They do not want their government to set a policy – and they especially do not want a court to impose a system – that knowingly deprives children of a mom or a dad. The results of this poll demonstrate that now is the time for a marriage amendment in West Virginia.”
The poll, commissioned by the FPC and performed in late July by Advantage, Inc., found that 73% of the more than 500 registered West Virginia voters surveyed say they would support an amendment worded, “Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in this state.”
The findings of the poll, available at www.familypolicywv.com, suggests that an additional 73% of West Virginia voters would be “more likely” to vote for a candidate who favored an amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
It is pretty common for right-wing groups to commission polls that just happen to “prove” that the population at large shares their agenda. But in this case, the FPC was so taken with the findings of their small poll that they are demanding action from the Governor … and now:
As the general election approaches, a Christian evangelical group has issued an ultimatum to Gov. Joe Manchin: call a special session to pass a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, or face the wrath of voters.
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia told the governor on Oct. 9 that he had until Wednesday to agree to call the Legislature into session. The conservative group, formed in March, cites polling it commissioned of around 500 registered voters that it says found 73 percent supporting an amendment defining marriage as a “union of one man and one woman.”
“The donors to this organization, as well as my board, are asking — rather stridently — that we release the poll to the public as soon as possible,” Jeremy Dys, the group’s president, said in a letter to the governor’s office. “If he has determined that the timing is not right, the duty I have to our donors and the Board of Directors requires that I release this as soon as possible.”
…
Amending the constitution would also require a statewide vote. Dys said such a vote should take place next year, when no legislative seats are up for election, so “no politician should fear displacement from their current position, should that be of any concern,” his letter said.
But Dys also called for a special session this year, arguing “the current legislature is a known quantity and our analysis shows strong support for the passage of such a resolution.”
