June 1, 2015 - U.S. Voters Back Supreme Court Ok For Gay Marriage, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Less Support For Death Penalty - Except For Terrorism PDF format Sample and Methodology detail American voters say 56 - 38 percent they would support a U.S. Supreme Court decision granting same-sex couples the constitutional right to marry, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today. Voters support 56 - 36 percent same-sex marriage in general. Backing a possible Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage are Democrats 70 - 24 percent, independent voters 61 - 34 percent, men 55 - 41 percent and women 57 - 35 percent. Republicans are opposed 62 - 34 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University Poll finds. Voters also oppose 53 - 40 percent allowing individual states to prohibit same-sex marriage, and support 57 - 36 percent requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. Democrats, independent voters, men and women back same-sex marriage in these questions, with Republicans opposed. American voters are leaning against the death penalty in general, as 48 percent say a person convicted of murder should be sentenced to life without parole, while 43 percent back the death penalty for convicted murderers. A person convicted of murder during an act of terror should receive the death penalty, 58 percent of voters say, while 36 percent call for life without parole. Convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should get the death penalty, 62 percent of voters say, while 34 percent back life without parole. "American voters may be moving away from the death penalty in general, but there is absolutely no ambivalence when it comes to executing convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. President Obama Approval American voters disapprove 50 - 43 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing, compared to a 49 - 44 percent disapproval in an April 27 Quinnipiac University poll. Voters disapprove 61 - 30 percent of the job Democrats in Congress are doing and disapprove 73 - 17 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing. The U.S. and its allies are losing the fight against ISIS, American voters say 64 - 17 percent. Republicans, Democrats and independent voters, and men and women, all agree the U.S. is losing. America is doing too much around the world and should focus more on domestic problems, 64 percent of voters say, while 32 percent say the U.S. must continue to promote democracy around the world. "Americans, by a huge margin, believe the fight against ISIS is being lost," Malloy said. "By a 2-1 margin, voters think the United States is too overextended and should focus on domestic issues." Trains, Planes and Automobiles Only 5 percent of American voters rely on trains when traveling long distances, while 50 percent go by plane; 41 percent go by car and 2 percent take the bus. They feel most safe traveling by car, 51 percent of Americans say, while 31 percent feel most safe on a plane; 11 percent feel safest on a train and 3 percent feel safest on a bus. But 30 percent feel least safe on a plane, followed by 26 percent on a bus, 23 percent in a car and 14 percent on a train. From May 19 - 26, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,711 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacPoll. 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 43% 7% 80% 40% 41% 45% Disapprove 50 92 15 50 53 47 DK/NA 7 1 5 10 6 8 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (* High also 59% Mar 2009) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Nov 25 Jul 02 Jun 04 Dec 10 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2009* 2013 Approve 43 44 41 39 40 59 38 Disapprove 50 49 52 54 53 31 57 DK/NA 7 7 7 8 7 10 6 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 17% 40% 9% 10% 18% 16% Disapprove 73 52 85 77 74 73 DK/NA 10 8 6 12 8 11 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job? (* High also 34% Mar 3 2011, Mar 2010, ** Low also 17% Jan 2014, Oct 2013) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Nov 26 Jul 08 Mar 31 Jun 01 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2011* 2015** Approve 17 22 22 23 18 34 17 Disapprove 73 69 69 69 73 55 73 DK/NA 10 9 9 8 9 11 10 9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 30% 9% 62% 19% 27% 33% Disapprove 61 85 29 70 67 55 DK/NA 9 5 8 11 6 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job? (* Low also 24% Nov 2011, Oct 2011, Sep 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Nov 26 Jul 08 Mar 04 Nov 26 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2009 2014* Approve 30 30 28 24 29 45 24 Disapprove 61 61 62 67 63 45 67 DK/NA 9 9 10 9 8 10 9 10. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Very satisfied 2% 1% 4% 1% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 26 11 48 20 27 25 Smwht dissatisfied 32 36 30 34 31 33 Very dissatisfied 39 53 16 45 39 39 DK/NA 1 - 2 1 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Nov 25 Jul 08 Dec 11 Nov 13 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2001 2008 Very satisfied 2 2 2 2 2 21 2 Smwht satisfied 26 28 29 23 24 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 32 32 33 32 31 19 38 Very dissatisfied 39 37 35 42 43 10 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 3 2 41. Who do you trust more to make decisions that are good for the country, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Obama 45% 5% 84% 42% 41% 49% Reps in Congress 43 91 10 40 47 39 DK/NA 12 4 6 19 12 12 TREND: Who do you trust more to make decisions that are good for the country, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Nov 25 2015 2015 2015 2014 Obama 45 45 42 42 Reps in Congress 43 43 47 47 DK/NA 12 13 11 12 42. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - the economy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 46% 9% 80% 44% 45% 48% Disapprove 50 87 16 52 52 48 DK/NA 4 4 4 4 4 4 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy? (* Low also 32% Sep 2011) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Jul 02 Apr 02 Mar 04 Oct 06 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2009 2011* Approve 46 45 44 40 40 57 32 Disapprove 50 50 50 55 55 33 64 DK/NA 4 5 6 4 4 10 4 43. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - foreign policy? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Approve 38% 5% 73% 34% 34% 42% Disapprove 56 91 22 59 61 50 DK/NA 6 5 6 7 5 8 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling foreign policy? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 01 Apr 27 Mar 04 Jul 02 Apr 02 Apr 29 Mar 04 2015 2015 2015 2014 2014 2009 2015 Approve 38 39 35 37 39 57 35 Disapprove 56 53 55 57 55 32 55 DK/NA 6 8 10 6 6 11 10 62. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Excellent 1% - 3% 1% 2% 1% Good 34 15 55 31 36 32 Not so good 37 48 33 33 36 37 Poor 27 37 9 33 26 28 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 TREND: Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? EXLNT+GOOD.... High Low Jun 01 Mar 04 Nov 25 Jul 02 Apr 02 Dec 10 Mar 04 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2003 2009 Excellent 1 2 2 1 - 3 - Good 34 34 31 22 26 37 3 Not so good 37 41 38 43 44 42 28 Poor 27 21 28 34 30 16 68 DK/NA 1 1 1 - - 1 - 63. Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Better 33% 12% 55% 32% 33% 33% Worse 24 38 11 25 24 25 The same 42 50 34 43 42 42 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 - TREND: Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? (* Low also 11% Sep 2011) BETTER........ High Low Jun 01 Mar 04 Nov 25 Jul 02 Apr 02 Jan 18 Oct 06 2015 2015 2014 2014 2014 2011 2011* Better 33 34 34 26 29 36 11 Worse 24 22 22 31 29 20 44 The same 42 43 43 43 42 43 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 64. Would you say that you are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Better off 45% 29% 61% 43% 46% 43% Worse off 30 43 15 33 30 31 SAME(VOL) 23 27 23 21 23 24 DK/NA 2 1 2 2 2 2 TREND: Would you say that you are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? BETTER OFF.... High Low Jun 01 Mar 04 May 02 Nov 13 May 05 Jun 01 Nov 13 2015 2015 2013 2008 2004 2015 2008 Better off 45 41 36 27 43 45 27 Worse off 30 32 41 50 34 30 50 SAME(VOL) 23 24 22 22 22 23 22 DK/NA 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 65. When you travel long distances which one of these modes of transportation do you most prefer: plane, car, bus, or train? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Plane 50% 45% 54% 49% 50% 49% Car 41 50 38 39 42 41 Bus 2 1 2 3 2 2 Train 5 2 4 7 4 6 DK/NA 2 2 3 2 2 3 66. Which one of the following do you think is the most cost-effective way to travel: plane, car, bus, or train? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Plane 30% 31% 30% 30% 33% 27% Car 35 43 31 32 31 38 Bus 13 9 16 14 12 14 Train 17 13 18 19 19 15 DK/NA 5 4 5 5 5 5 67. Do you feel most safe traveling by: plane, car, bus, or train? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Plane 31% 31% 34% 29% 33% 28% Car 51 54 46 51 47 54 Bus 3 3 3 3 3 3 Train 11 8 13 12 13 10 DK/NA 5 5 4 4 4 5 68. Do you feel least safe traveling by: plane, car, bus, or train? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Plane 30% 34% 27% 28% 28% 31% Car 23 19 27 24 27 20 Bus 26 26 23 27 24 27 Train 14 14 13 14 13 15 DK/NA 8 6 9 6 8 8 69. If you could vacation this summer in any state other than your own, which would it be? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Alabama 1% - - 2% 1% 1% Alaska 5 7 3 5 6 4 Arizona 2 3 2 3 3 2 Arkansas - 1 - - - - California 10 5 15 10 10 10 Colorado 5 6 4 5 6 5 Connecticut - - - - - - Delaware - - - - - - Florida 14 17 16 11 15 14 Georgia 1 1 1 1 - 2 Hawaii 14 15 14 12 14 14 Idaho - 1 - 1 - - Illinois 1 - 1 - 1 1 Indiana - - - - - - Iowa - - - - - - Kansas - - - - - - Kentucky - - - - - - Louisiana 2 1 2 1 1 2 Maine 4 4 3 5 3 4 Maryland - - - - - - Massachusetts 1 1 1 1 1 1 Michigan 1 - 1 1 1 1 Minnesota - - - 1 - - Mississippi - - - - - - Missouri - - - - 1 - Montana 3 2 3 4 4 2 Nebraska - 1 - - - - Nevada 2 2 3 1 2 2 New Hampshire - - - 1 - - New Jersey 1 1 1 - 1 1 New Mexico 1 1 1 1 1 1 New York 3 2 4 3 2 4 North Carolina 3 4 2 4 3 3 North Dakota - 1 - - - - Ohio 1 - 1 1 1 1 Oklahoma - - - - - - Oregon 3 1 3 4 2 3 Pennsylvania - 1 - - - - Rhode Island - 1 - - - - South Carolina 3 3 3 2 3 2 South Dakota - - - - - - Tennessee 1 2 1 2 1 2 Texas 3 4 2 3 3 3 Utah 1 1 - 2 1 1 Vermont 1 1 - 1 1 1 Virginia 1 1 2 1 1 1 Washington 4 2 5 4 3 5 West Virginia - - - - - - Wisconsin 1 1 1 1 1 1 Wyoming 2 3 - 2 2 1 DK/NA 3 2 3 4 4 3 70. Please tell me which of the following statements comes closer to your point of view: A) The United States is doing too much in other countries around the world, and it is time to do less around the world and focus more on our own problems here at home. B) The United States must continue to push forward to promote democracy and freedom in other countries around the world because these efforts make our own country more secure. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom A) Focus on home 64% 56% 63% 68% 61% 66% B) Promote democracy 32 42 34 27 35 30 DK/NA 4 2 3 5 4 4 TREND: Please tell me which of the following statements comes closer to your point of view: A) The United States is doing too much in other countries around the world, and it is time to do less around the world and focus more on our own problems here at home. B) The United States must continue to push forward to promote democracy and freedom in other countries around the world because these efforts make our own country more secure. Jun 01 Jul 03 2015 2014 A) Focus on home 64 64 B) Promote democracy 32 32 DK/NA 4 4 72. Do you think the United States and its allies are winning or losing the fight against ISIS, the Islamic militant group operating in Iraq and Syria? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Winning 17% 12% 28% 13% 20% 15% Losing 64 74 50 69 63 64 DK/NA 19 14 23 17 16 21 73. Do you support or oppose allowing same-sex couples to get married? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 56% 35% 69% 61% 55% 57% Oppose 36 57 24 32 36 35 DK/NA 8 8 7 7 8 8 TREND: Do you support or oppose allowing same-sex couples to get married? Jun 01 Apr 27 2015 2015 Support 56 58 Oppose 36 34 DK/NA 8 8 74. Overall, do you support or oppose allowing individual states to prohibit same-sex marriages? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 40% 56% 26% 39% 45% 35% Oppose 53 36 69 53 50 56 DK/NA 7 8 5 7 5 9 75. Overall, do you support or oppose requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 57% 37% 72% 62% 55% 59% Oppose 36 56 23 32 38 33 DK/NA 7 7 4 7 6 7 76. The U.S. Supreme Court could decide that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, which would have the effect of legalizing same sex marriage throughout the country. Would you support or oppose the Supreme Court taking this action? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 56% 34% 70% 61% 55% 57% Oppose 38 62 24 34 41 35 DK/NA 5 4 6 5 3 7 77. Do you support or oppose the health care law passed by Barack Obama and Congress in 2010? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Support 43% 8% 79% 40% 42% 45% Oppose 51 88 17 53 54 48 DK/NA 6 4 4 7 5 7 TREND: Do you support or oppose the health care law passed by Barack Obama and Congress in 2010? SUPPORT....... High Low Jun 01 Nov 25 Jul 02 Apr 02 Jan 22 Oct 01 Jan 22 2015 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2014 Support 43 40 43 41 38 45 38 Oppose 51 54 55 55 56 47 56 DK/NA 6 6 2 5 7 8 7 78. Do you think Congress should try to repeal the health care law, or should they let it stand? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Should repeal it 46% 84% 15% 44% 49% 42% Should let it stand 48 12 82 48 46 50 DK/NA 6 4 3 8 5 7 TREND: Do you think Congress should try to repeal the health care law, or should they let it stand? SHOULD REPEAL High Low Jun 01 Nov 25 Jul 12 Apr 20 Feb 23 Feb 23 May 04 2015 2014 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 Should repeal it 46 48 49 51 52 52 44 Should let it stand 48 46 43 38 39 39 45 DK/NA 6 6 8 11 10 10 11 79. Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder; the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Death penalty 43% 60% 27% 43% 48% 39% Life/no parole 48 33 64 47 44 51 DK/NA 9 7 9 10 8 10 TREND: Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder; the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole? Jun 01 May 02 Jul 17 Dec 15 2015 2013 2008 2004 Death penalty 43 48 47 42 Life/no parole 48 43 44 46 DK/NA 9 9 9 12 80. In general, do you think people convicted of murder during an act of terrorism should receive the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Death penalty 58% 75% 41% 59% 64% 53% Life/no parole 36 21 55 34 32 41 DK/NA 5 3 4 7 4 6 TREND: In general, do you think people convicted of murder during an act of terrorism should receive the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole? Jun 01 May 02 2015 2013 Death penalty 58 63 Life/no parole 36 32 DK/NA 5 5 81. As you may know, the jury in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted of the Boston Marathon bombing, sentenced him to the death penalty. Do you think he should receive the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Death penalty 62% 79% 45% 63% 65% 59% Life/no parole 34 18 51 33 32 37 DK/NA 3 3 3 4 3 4
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