While a majority of North Carolinians
continue to oppose gay marriage, opposition is on the decline.
Less than two years after voters
approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a
heterosexual union by a 22 point margin, opposition to marriage
equality has dropped 9 percentage points.
According to a Public
Policy Polling survey released Thursday, 40 percent of
respondents said that they support allowing gay couples to marry,
while 53 percent remain opposed.
However, a majority (62%) of
respondents support recognizing the unions of gay couples with either
marriage (36%) or civil unions (26%). Only 34 percent said there
should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship.
The findings were released a day after
the ACLU of North Carolina filed a lawsuit in federal court
challenging the constitutionality of the state's marriage ban.
(Related: Three
married couples challenge North Carolina's gay marriage ban.)