Some 50 per cent of Bermuda’s residents are against a change in law allowing for gay marriage according to a survey released by the Global Research Strategy Group.

Some 400 residents aged 18 and above were questioned in the survey with results weighted to be representative of Bermuda’s population with an error margin of +/- 5 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

Of those who answered the question, 36 per cent were for legislative change while 13 per cent said they did not know. The youngest respondents, 18 to 34-year-olds, were the most supportive of a change in law with 47 per cent in favour. The age bracket least in favour was 55 to 65 with 71 per cent of respondents selecting no.

From a racial perspective, 54 per cent of black people were against a law change while 54 per cent of the white people surveyed were in favour.

Respondents were also asked whether they would be accepting if their child told them that they were gay to which 61 per cent of all residents answered yes and only 16 per cent answered no.

Those aged 45 to 54 were most accepting with 72 per cent of respondents answering yes.

The black community were more in favour of accepting their child is gay than they were of a change in law allowing same sex marriage with 59 per cent answering yes. Some 67 per cent of white people replied they would be accepting.

A final, seemingly unrelated survey question, asked whether economic hardship had prevented residents from meeting financial obligations to which 43 per cent responded that it had. Those respondents aged 18 to 34 were the most impacted according to the results with 60 per cent saying that hardship had caused them to miss finacnaila obligations.

Black respondents were more likely to be unable to meet financial obligations at 49 per cent compared to 23 per cent of white reposndents.

Nosheen Syed, CEO of Global Research & Strategy Group told The Royal Gazette: “Global Research regularly conducts research on current topics to understand societal opinion. It is very important for policymakers to engage the public vs assume that they understand how people think and feel about a certain topic.

“The results from this particular survey show that the public is divided (50 per cent oppose) changing the law to allow gay marriage in Bermuda for visitors or locals.

“As researchers we understand the complexity of this issue. Those that support legalising same-sex marriage tend to believe that same-sex couples deserve the same legal privileges, including shared assets, benefits and citizenship as heterosexual couples. Those that oppose same-sex marriage tend to view it as debasing religious beliefs and the laws of nature, and at odds with the primary marriage function of procreation and raising children.

“More in depth research is required as policymakers continue to debate new legislation and the next steps for Bermuda.”

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