A poll released Monday for the first
time found greater support for marriage equality than opposition in
North Carolina.
Pollsters at Elon University surveyed
more than 1,000 likely voters for its Elon University Poll.
Forty-five percent of respondents said
they support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, while
forty-three percent said they remain opposed. Twelve percent refused
to answer.
“Support for gay marriage has picked
up 4 percentage points since a spring poll and opposition has dropped
3 percentage points,” Elon
University said in releasing its findings. “It is the first
time that Elon University Poll has found support for gay marriage to
be greater than opposition, though it is within the margin of error.”
After a federal appeals court in July
struck down Virginia's constitutional amendment limiting marriage to
heterosexual couples, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper
announced that he will no longer defend the law in court. North Carolina
is in the same circuit as Virginia.
Chris Sgro, executive director of
Equality NC, said the poll's results “simply reflect the dramatic
momentum in support of the LGBT community we see every day in every
corner of the Tar Heel state.”
“This poll should signal a clarion
call to North Carolina leaders that the constituent demand for full
LGBT equality is not an 'if' proposition, but a 'when,'” he
added.