Support for gay marriage among
African-Americans in Ohio has increased 26 percentage points since
President Barack Obama announced in May that he supports such unions.
According to a Public
Policy Polling survey taken last fall, only 16 percent of black
voters in the state favored gay marriage. Forty-two percent of
respondents to a poll taken this week said they approve of such
unions.
The pollster previously found similar
increases among black voters in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
“We've now found in both North
Carolina and Pennsylvania
that black voters have moved more toward support of gay marriage in
the wake of Barack Obama's announcement,” said Dean Debnam,
president of Public Policy Polling. “The media's been asking the
wrong question – the big issues isn't how Obama's stance will
affect his reelection hopes. It's how Obama's stance will move
public opinion on gay marriage.”
Support for gay nuptials among Ohio
voters has increased by net 10 points since October when 32 percent
thought it should be legal and 55 percent illegal. Tuesday's poll
found 37 percent in favor and 50 percent opposed.