A majority of Hispanic-Americans say
they support marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
According to a Pew Research Center
telephone survey of 1,765 Latinos across the country conducted from
September 4 to October 7, a majority (52%) support marriage equality.
Thirty-four percent said they were opposed.
The group has conducted a major
turnaround in the last six years.
In
2006, Pew found 56 percent against gay nuptials and 31 percent in
favor. That's a 19 percentage point increase in six years.
Support among Catholic Latinos was
higher – 54 percent. Latino evangelicals, however, remain strongly
opposed to such unions, 66-to-25 percent.
Pollsters also found strong support for
President Barack Obama among Latinos. Registered Hispanic voters
support Obama over his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, by a 3-to-1
ratio. The highest percentage of support for Romney is found among
Latino evangelicals at 39 percent.
An NBC Latino/IBOPE Zogby poll released
earlier this month found sixty percent of Latinos in support of
marriage equality.
Hispanic groups such as the National
Council of La Raza (NCLR), the League of United Latino American
Citizens (LULAC), and the National Puerto Rican Coalition have
endorsed
gay marriage.