A majority of New Yorkers say they are
OK with a gay marriage law that was approved in June and went into
effect in July.
The
NY1/Marist poll released on Wednesday found 55 percent of
respondents support the law, 36 percent oppose it and 9 percent said
they were uncertain.
The bill won passage in the New York
Senate with the help of four Republicans who joined all but one
Democrat in voting for the Marriage Equality Act. Conservative
groups have said they would work against the re-election campaigns of
senators who supported the bill, in particular Republicans.
The new survey, however, found more New
Yorkers saying they would be more likely (44%) than not (30%) to
support a state senator who voted for the bill, which made New York
the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.
The issue breaks down along political
lines, with 55 percent of Democrats, and only 24 percent of
Republicans, more likely to support state senators who voted for the
bill. Among independents, 45 percent are more likely to vote for
that state senator, and 35 percent are less likely.
“It doesn't look at this point that
it's going to be a major liability for individual senators,” said
Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff.
(Related: Majority
of Vermont voters support gay marriage law.)