Poll: Americans Don’t Buy Tony Perkins’s Antigay ‘Revolution’ Over Marriage Equality

Most Americans would not join a "revolution" over marriage equality and disagree with the National Organization for Marriage's anti-equality message, according to a poll commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign and released to coincide with NOM's March for Marriage rally.

The poll quoted the views of an antigay activist from another organization, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, who said he believed that legalizing same-sex marriage would cause a "revolution" and "break this nation apart."

Alex Lundry, Mitt Romney's former data collecter, conducted the poll through TargetPoint Consulting and Politico, and he found that a majority of respondents did not share Perkins's apocalyptic vision. Fifty-nine percent of those polled disagreed with Perkins's statement about the nation falling into revolution. Even 58 percent of the people who said they oppose marriage equality would not take any action against it. Fifty-six percent of respondents supported equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The poll also asked how much money people would be willing to put toward the effort of either stopping or expanding marriage equality. Supporters said they would be willing to pay $8,500, while opponents would only dish out $2,600.

"Only one directly mentions the word 'revolution,' five voters threaten to leave the country, and a scant 15 people (3 percent of opponents) mention any form of protest," said a summary of the poll's results. "Clearly, there is no real threat of widespread calamity should we extend the freedom to marry to gays and lesbians."