A majority of Americans say President
Barack Obama's support for and Mitt Romney's opposition against gay
marriage won't affect their vote.
According to a The
New York Times/CBS News poll released Monday night, 57
percent of respondents say Obama's support for such unions will not
affect how they vote. Sixty percent say Romney's opposition is not a
factor.
A greater number of people, however,
said the move would make them less likely to vote for the president
in the fall. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said the
president's position made them less likely to vote for him, while 16
percent said the shift in position increased the likelihood that they
would vote for Obama.
Obama dropped his previous stance of
“evolving” on the issue to come out in favor of legalizing
marriage for gay couples last week in an interview with ABC News'
Robin Roberts. The next day, the
Obama campaign released a video contrasting the president's views
with those of his presumed GOP rival, Mitt Romney.
A majority (67%) of those polled said
they suspected Obama's announcement was made “mostly for political
reasons.” Twenty-four percent said he acted out of principle.
Just 7 percent think gay marriage is an
important issue in the election.