AX091_1217_9.JPG

Equality Alabama members and supporters walked from the Government Plaza to the Icon Bar in Tuscaloosa to rally support after the Supreme Court released a landmark decision on DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) increasing gay marriage rights, Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in downtown Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act that barred married same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits.

Do you agree with the court's decision?

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7209919/"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Do you support or oppose same-sex marriage?&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

A majority of the candidates running in the special election for Alabama's 1st Congressional District said they opposed the court's ruling, saying they defined marriage strictly as between a man and a woman.

Those opinions buck a trend that shows

a growing number of Americans support the right for same-sex couples to legally marry. A recent CNN poll showed a

majority of Americans – 55 percent - back same-sex marriage. That was up 11 percentage points from 2008. The same poll indicates 44 percent oppose the issue.

What do you think? Cast your vote in our online poll, and drop a comment below.