A new poll has found that a majority of US voters are in favour of legalising equal marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

The Gallup poll found that 52% of respondents said they supported the right of same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states.

43% of the respondents said they opposed legalising equal marriage nationwide.

Those surveyed were asked how they would vote if they were asked to choose between legalising same-sex marriage or not in a ballot in November.

As with previous polls, there was a break along religious and political lines. 73% of those identifying as liberal said they supported equal marriage.

Out of respondents who said they attended church weekly, just 23% said they supported equal marriage, and 67% of conservatives said they would oppose it, compared to 30% for.

Gallup notes that there is no statistical variance in the nation’s opinion in equal marriage in this, its first survey on the topic since the Supreme Court ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act last month.

The poll surveyed 2,027 adults from 10-14 July, and has a margin of error of up to 4 percentage points.

A similar poll conducted in the week following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in two key equal marriage cases found that support for same-sex marriage across the US was at a record high.