Glimmer of Hope in TN

It appears Gov. Bredesen may be eating some crow when Tennesseans go to the polls to vote on marriage equality. His prediction that the anti-gay marriage amendment will pass by either 85% or 95% could be terribly off-base.

Out & About Nashville, a local gay and lesbian newspaper, released the findings of a recent Zogby poll showing that “59% of Tennessee voters agree that gays and lesbians should have the same rights under [the] law as other Americans.”

The poll questioned Tennesseans on the upcoming change to the Tennessee Constitution and their voting plans. Surprisingly, only 60% of respondents supported the amendment while 33% didn’t. A significant portion (6%) had yet to make up their minds. With other states passing these amendments by margins as great as 86% in Mississippi, gay Tennesseans see a reason to hope that eventually their fellow citizens will treat them as equals.

Randy Tarkington, campaign manager for the Vote No on 1 effort to defeat the amendment, said, “We are happy with these polling numbers as a starting point for our campaign because what they show is that the voters of Tennessee support fairness and they have serious misgivings about adding discrimination to our state’s constitution.”

The survey also found that as many as 55% of Tennessee citizens are weary of changing the Constitution.