Korean Americans Hate Gay Marriage Most, New Poll Reveals

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Not yet ready to root for same-sex marriage...

​This morning the Field Poll published new results on California voters' support for same-sex marriage. On the whole, the poll was inconclusive. About 51 percent of those surveyed said they approved of gay marriage, with some 42 percent opposed. That's hardly great news, however, since it's the exact result the poll obtained in May 2008, mere months before Californians passed Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to ban same-sex nuptials.

One interesting thing about the latest poll, however, is how it brings a new level of detail to one of the stickier wickets confronted by proponents of same-sex marriage: distaste for gay rights among ethnic minorities. It's been known for some time that Asian Americans are the ethnic group most opposed to gay marriage in California, but the new poll marks the first time that subsets of Asians have been singled out and asked what they think about it. The results: Koreans as a group are the most anti-gay marriage. And it isn't even close.

The new Field Poll reveals that Korean Americans disapprove of same-sex marriage by a margin of 70 to 25 percent. They were followed in their dislike of same-sex couples by Vietnamese Americans (64 percent disapproval) and Chinese Americans (54 percent disapprove.)

​African Americans disapprove of gay marriage by a margin of 49 to 38 percent, the poll finds, while Latinos support same-sex marriage by a margin of 50 to 41. About 53 percent of whites support same-sex marriage, with 39 percent opposed.

Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said that while it's clear Asian Americans are the group most opposed to same-sex marriage -- and Koreans foremost among Asians -- the results also depend heavily on the age of those questioned. Younger voters, he said, show stronger support for gay marriage than older people "coming from traditional societies."

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