Sixty-four percent of New Jersey voters
believe gay marriage should be legal in the state.
According to a Quinnipiac
University poll of 1,129 registered New Jersey voters released on
Tuesday, 64 percent of respondents said that they support marriage
equality, while 30 percent remain opposed. That is a 23 percent
increase in support since 2006, and an 11 percent increase in just
the last year.
The figure is one of the highest of any
state, including Massachusetts, the first state to legalize such
unions nearly a decade ago. A 2012 Public Polling Policy (PPP)
survey found 62 percent support in Massachusetts.
Eighty percent of voters under the age
of 34 support marriage equality, while 17 percent remain opposed.
Even among older voters, those over 55 years old, a majority (56%)
are in support.
Only 1 percent of respondents listed
“gay marriage/gay issues” as their “most important issue” in
deciding how to vote for governor. Taxes (general) topped the list
at 29 percent.
A large majority (72%) of New Jersey
voters also believe the issue should be put up to a popular vote.
Only 22 percent said that would be a “bad idea.”