FRC's Tony Perkins: Polls Irrelevant in Gay Marriage Debate

It isn’t polls that matter, it’s the ballot box, Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, said on “Face the Nation” Sunday.

"The polls that really matter are the polls that are taken when the people actually vote on this. When people have voted as late as 10 months ago, 30 states have put the natural definition of marriage into their state constitution on average by a vote of 67 percent,” Perkins said in response to questions that recent polls have shown acceptance of same-sex marriage gaining – even among Republicans.

The Supreme Court is set this week to hear two cases restricting gay marriage: the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8.

Perkins said polls provide results based on “what you ask for.”

“There's later polls out by Reuters this week, the Pew Research that show not only is it evenly split in this nation, but when you look at Republicans, 63 percent of Republicans say it would be harmful to the family to redefine marriage."

Asked to admit that the tide of public sentiment is clearly moving toward same-sex marriage, Perkins disagreed. “If it’s inevitable, as the media would have us believe it is, then there’s no reason for the Court to interject itself in this. But the reality is: It’s not inevitable.”