A new poll finds a majority of Rhode
Islanders favor legalizing gay marriage.
According to a Brown University poll of
593 registered Rhode Island voters released on Thursday, 60.4 percent
of respondents favor marriage equality, while 26 percent remain
opposed.
Nearly 60 percent of those opposed
cited religious reasons for their opposition.
The poll's results are nearly identical
to a survey conducted by Brown in May, 2009.
The issue has been debated in Rhode
Island for more than a decade. A marriage equality bill
overwhelmingly passed the House last month and is currently before
the Senate.
“An overwhelming majority of Rhode
Islanders agree that in 2013 it is finally time to extend the unique
protections and benefits that only marriage can afford to all loving
and committed couples,” said Ray Sullivan of Rhode Islanders United
For Marriage, which supports marriage equality.
Chris Plante of the local chapter of
the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) dismissed the poll's
findings.
“It's a Brown University poll and
they've always shown these numbers,” Plante
said. “There's no big change in these numbers over the last 4
or 5 years.”