Same-sex marriage gets 61% backing in poll SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Same-sex marriage gets 61% backing in poll 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments over California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, a new poll reports that Californians now favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry by nearly 2 to 1.

The Field Poll, published Thursday, found that 61 percent of a sample of registered voters approved of allowing same-sex couples to wed, 32 percent disapproved and the rest had no opinion. Support came from all regions of the state, crossed lines of race, gender and age, and was voiced by all political groups except Republicans and conservatives.

The same survey found 59 percent approval last year and 51 percent in 2010. In 1977, the first time the question was asked - and the year that the Legislature first defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman - 28 percent approved of allowing same-sex marriage and 59 percent disapproved.

The national trend

The latest results are consistent with nationwide surveys that report a steady increase in support for same-sex marriage as a younger and more inclusive generation reaches adulthood. Recent national polls commissioned by NBC and CBS found 51 percent approval, and in November, for the first time, voters in three states, Maine, Maryland and Washington, legalized same-sex nuptials at the ballot box.

The California poll comes a month before the Supreme Court's first-ever examination of the issue: a March 26 hearing on Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California, and a hearing the next day on the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that denied federal benefits to married same-sex couples.

The justices are supposed to focus on the law and disregard the polls. But historians and advocates have observed that the court pays heed to the mood of the public and tries not to get too far ahead of it, particularly on social issues.

"The U.S. Supreme Court is witnessing this sea change," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. The poll numbers increase the likelihood that the justices will overturn Prop. 8, she said, "because to do otherwise puts them squarely on the wrong side of history."

How critics see it

Opponents of same-sex marriage said the shift in public opinion is a further reason for the court to leave Prop. 8 intact.

"I think it's a strong indication that the people are grappling with these issues, which means that there is absolutely no reason for the Supreme Court to cut short the political dialogue that is under way," said John Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage.

"The wisest course is for the Supreme Court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage," said attorney Jim Campbell of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Prop. 8's sponsors.

The numbers also suggest that any legal victory for Prop. 8 could be undone by the voters next year, in a measure that could be placed on the ballot by initiative signatures or a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

"I'm quite confident that if upheld, (the ban on same-sex marriage) won't be around for long," said Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which represents two same-sex couples challenging Prop. 8.

The Field Poll, conducted by telephone among 834 registered voters between Feb. 5 and Feb. 17, had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Widespread support

It found support for same-sex marriage in all regions of the state, led by the Bay Area at 77 percent, a 14-point increase since 2010.

The poll also reported support among all racial and ethnic groups, with a notable increase among a category defined as African American, Asian American and other non-Latino minorities - from 41 percent in 2010 to 64 percent this month.

Post-election polls in 2008 found strong African American support for Prop. 8, following a campaign by black clergy members opposed to same-sex marriage. A key reason for the recent turnaround, Kendell said, has been President Obama's "speaking out forcefully for the freedom to marry" in his endorsement of same-sex marriage rights in May.

The poll found a continuing gender gap, with 66 percent of women and 56 percent of men supporting marriage for gays and lesbians. Voters who are 18 to 39 were in support by 78 percent, while those 65 and older - solidly opposed to same-sex marriage in past polls - were 48 to 44 percent in favor this time.

One group that remained in opposition was Republicans, with 53 percent disapproving of same-sex marriage and 39 percent approving. That still reflected a 13-point increase in support from the 2010 poll.