Just over half of Louisiana residents still oppose same-sex marriage despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage last year, according to the seventh installment of the 2016 Louisiana Survey.
According to the survey, which is a based on responses from 1,001 telephone interviews of Louisianans aged 18 and older and conducted in February, 53% of those surveyed say they oppose same-sex marriage. And 52% believe businesses providing wedding services should be allowed to refuse serving same-sex couples for religious reasons.
A number of states have debated “religious freedom laws” which allow business owners to refuse services to individuals whose lifestyles do not align with the owners’ religious beliefs.
The report notes that supporters of such laws argue that “these laws protect the liberty of the organizations and business operators to practice their religion by allowing them to conduct their activities in keeping with their faith. Opponents contend these laws permit discrimination based on religion.”
Survey results shows differences of opinion about the laws fall along partisan, religious and age lines. Most Democrats—54%—say businesses should be required to provide services to same-sex couples while an overwhelming percentage of Republicans—75%—say businesses should have a right to refuse.
Other issues examined in the survey include abortion, permitting Syrian refugees to settle in Louisiana, race relations, the removal of Confederate monuments and whether there should be a statewide ban on assault weapons in Louisiana.
Most surveyed—55%—say abortion should be illegal in most cases and roughly two-thirds of Louisianans oppose allowing refugees escaping the conflict in Syrian to settle in the state. Meanwhile, slightly more than one-third, or 36%, of residents favor a statewide ban on assault weapons.
As for removing Confederate monuments, 73% of residents are opposed, with the largest divide being among racial lines, with 47% of black residents opposing the removal of the monuments. The survey is a project of the LSU Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs.
