If you want a snapshot of what Georgia Republican voters think of the gays right now, check out Public Polling Policy's latest findings. It's chock full of fun facts to make you want to throw up a little bit in your mouth. You can drag through the deep dive of data if you want, but we'll give you the lowlights.
A majority of the state is still against gay marriage, with 60% of respondents still not down with it. That number shoots up to 83% against for Republicans, who are still frantically grasping with all their might onto these final golden years before Georgia's gays marry, therefore causing the dissolution of their own marriages, the homofication of their basset hounds, and the spontaneous combustion of their church choirs. Or so I've heard down at the Sip-N-Save.
But the statewide numbers flip when those between 18 and 29 years of age were polled. Only 30% of them are against gay marriage, with 56% for. So for those taking the longview, it is possible to adopt a strategy of doing nothing about gay marriage and just waiting for old people to die. But I wouldn't recommend it.
Remember, gay numbers guru Nate Silver predicts that come 2020, Georgia will be one of only six states with a majority of voters against gay marriage. So don't say we aren't unique.
The poll does show Georgia GOPers remarkable ability to not let go. Because nearly 50 years after interracial marriage was legalized, about a quarter of them say they are still against it. So I'm sure that we can expect the same kind of tenacity on gay marriage from them well into the 22nd century.
Nearly 30% of Georgia Republicans think employers should be allowed to discriminate against employees based on sexual orientation. Because that's not insane.
Finally, butter queen and creative interpreter of gay marriage laws Paula Deen is still popular. Some 54% of respondents like her, with 73% of Republicans on board with her. Which ended up being telling, as Buzzfeed points out, because only 60% of Georgia Republicans said they had a favorable view of Martin Luther King, Jr. But in their defense, what would you rather have? A pathway to racial equality or a deep fried turkey? I rest my case.
Until then, feel free to burst out in song.
