Gay marriage support among voters in
Florida has increased 5 percentage points since September.
According to a Public
Policy Polling survey of 642 Florida voters released Friday, the
state is increasingly divided on the issue of equal marriage rights
for gay and lesbian couples.
While the state is still narrowly
against its legalization, support has increased.
Forty-five percent of respondents said
they oppose marriage equality, while 42 said they favor such unions.
A similar poll conducted in September
found 48 percent opposed and 37 percent in favor.
Pollsters credited President Barack
Obama's recent endorsement for the shift in opinion.
“This very much looks to be an Obama
effect,” Tom Jensen wrote in releasing the poll.
Support among Republicans and
independents remained virtually unchanged from the fall, but support
among Democrats increased from 48 to 61 percent.
“The most dramatic movement has been
among African-Americans who've shifted 48 points from being opposed
-30 in the fall (25/53) to now supporting it by 18 points (49/31).”
An overwhelming majority of Florida
voters (72%) support recognizing gay couples with either marriage
(37%) or civil unions (35%). Sixty-one percent of Republicans
support some form of legal recognition for gay couples.