NASHVILLE - It's the law of the land, but 57 percent of Tennesseans say they're still against allowing same-sex couples to marry, according to a new survey.
The Middle Tennessee State University poll also shows about half of Tennessee voters believe abortion should be outlawed in most or all cases.
Christopher Shappley waves a gay pride flag at the Tennessee State Capitol to celebrate same-sex marriage.And the fault line on both issues falls along both religious and political lines.
"Reflecting patterns in previous MTSU polls, opposition to the legality of both same-sex marriage and abortion runs highest among Tennessee's evangelical Christian and Republican voters," said Ken Blake, director of the MTSU poll, in a news release.
"In both groups, sizable majorities think it should be unlawful for same-sex couples to marry and think abortion should be illegal in most or all cases," Blake said.
The poll randomly surveyed 603 registered voters statewide by telephone from Oct. 25-27. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
A majority said they opposed same-sex marriage with 18 percent saying they opposed it and 39 percent saying they strongly oppose it. Twenty-nine percent either favor (18 percent) or strongly favor (11 percent) allowing same-sex unions.
MTSU said 14 percent either don't know what they think about it or won't say.
It's MTSU's first survey on Tennesseans' thoughts on the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Tennessee, which saw its state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage struck down by the ruling, was among states that had appealed the issue all the way to the Supreme Court.
Following the ruling, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery said while they were unhappy with it, the nation's highest court's ruling was the final word and that county clerks and local officials needed to comply.
The survey's results represent a two-point gain from a February survey but aren't as overwhelming as the 64 percent in a 2014 MTSU poll.
The latest results are encouraging to two lawmakers, Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, and Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, who recently announced they're looking at a bill that seeks to nullify the Supreme Court decision.
Their Natural Marriage Defense Act also requires Slatery's office to defend court clerks or other government officials who sue for refusing to recognized gay and lesbian marriages.
Beavers said the MTSU poll confirms what she already knows as she seeks to make the case for the legislation.
"I pretty much know that people in Tennessee were not in favor of same-sex marriage, that they were in favor of the definition of marriage that they voted for by over 80 percent a few years ago. And that is marriage is between a man and a woman," Beavers said.
Beavers said she and Pody continue to look at the bill to ensure it will be constitutional. "Quite frankly, I don't think what the Supreme Court did was constitutional," she added.
Tennesseans believe it's up to the state to define marriage, Beavers said.
"This bill that we have simply says that we have defined marriage in our constitution and we stand by it and our state sovereignty," she said.
The state's gay community is prepared to fight the bill if it's introduced.
Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, said he believes the MTSU poll will encourage proponents even more to introduce and push it.
The organization already has sent canvassers to four cities in conservative areas represented by members of the House or Senate judiciary committees. Cities being canvassed are Manchester, Dickson, Maryville and Bristol, Sanders said.
They're asking independent voters not only their views on same-sex marriage but what they think about the financial costs to Tennessee taxpayers for defending a law that will certainly be challenged in court.
Sanders noted attorneys who fought the Tennessee constitutional ban and won have asked courts for $2.3 million in cost reimbursements since the state lost.
"Fifty-six percent of those we've actually talked to when we got someone at the door oppose the bill when they find out the potential cost of litigation," Sanders said. "Yes, I think Tennessee is conservative on marriage. But it does not translate necessarily into support for the bill."
Meanwhile, David Fowler, a former state senator, social conservative and head of the Family Action Council has said he doesn't believe the same-sex decision is resolved and won't be until it's forced back before the Supreme Court. The one-time Signal Mountain Republican is looking for legislation to do just that.
Regarding abortion, 53 percent of voters in MTSU's survey said they think they think the procedure should be against the law either in most cases (31 percent) or all cases (22 percent).
Thirty-nine percent said it should be legal either in most cases (25 percent) or in all cases (14 percent). About 8 percent said they didn't know or declined to answer.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress, 615-255-0550 or follow on twitter at AndySher1.