A measure which would ban gay marriage
in North Carolina, as well as civil unions and domestic partnerships
for gay couples, is up by 14 points as the campaign heads into the
last week and early voting is already under way.
According to a Public
Polling Policy survey of 982 likely North Carolina primary
voters, 55 percent of respondents said they favor the amendment,
while 41 remain opposed.
Opposition to the measure rose slightly
among Republicans (from 17% to 21%), independents (43% to 46%) and
African Americans (39% to 43%). A majority of Democrats (54%) oppose
the measure.
While a majority of primary voters
(55%) support legal recognition of the unions of gay couples, if not
full marriage equality, only 40 percent of respondents surveyed knew
that the amendment would ban both civil unions and marriage for gay
couples.
“Voters who understand what the
amendment does are opposed to it,” said Dean Debnam, president of
Public Policy Polling. “But there's a lot of education left to be
done in this final week of the campaign.”
(Related: Dr.
Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, endorses North Carolina gay
marriage ban Amendment One.)