Poll: Majority supports gay marriage

As House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi engage in a tug of war over federal funding to protect the Defense of Marriage Act, a new poll suggests that a narrow majority of Americans believes gay marriage ought to be recognized by the federal government, while a growing minority support the legalization of marijuana.

Of those surveyed for a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Tuesday, 51 percent said they think marriages between lesbian and gay couples should be recognized as legal and come with the same rights as heterosexual unions, while 47 percent said the marriages should not be recognized.


The last time CNN asked the question, in April 2009, approval for gay marriage was at 44 percent and disapproval was at 54 percent. Two polls released in mid-March also found support for gay marriage in the low in 50s.

Boehner has asked the Justice Department to pay for the legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act and on Monday urged Pelosi to do the same, because the legal burden of protecting the law has fallen to the House. President Barack Obama ordered that the executive branch would no longer defend the part of the 1996 law that bans federal recognition of gay marriage. Pelosi responded, saying that she wanted to know how much the defense would cost.

Support for gay marriage is stronger among Democrats than among Republicans or independents. Sixty-four percent of Democrats said gay marriage should be legalized, while 35 percent said it should not be. Among Republicans, 27 percent said they support the legalization of gay marriage while 71 percent oppose it. And, among independents, 55 percent said they support gay marriage’s legalization, while 43 percent oppose it.

CNN also asked Americans for their views on the legalization of marijuana, ahead of April 20, the unofficial marijuana holiday. Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they support the legalization of the drug and 56 percent said they oppose it. In 2002, a CNN/Time magazine poll found 34 percent in favor of legalization and 59 percent opposed. In 1986, 18 percent supported it and 78 percent opposed it.

The poll was conducted April 9-10 and surveyed 824 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.