A plurality of Texas voters support gay
marriage, a new poll has found.
The survey commissioned by Equality
Texas and conducted by Glengariff Group, Inc. found that 47.9 percent
of respondents support marriage equality, while 47.5 percent remain
opposed.
That's nearly a 5 point drop in
opposition since 2010, when a majority (52.7%) of respondents said
they were opposed to such unions, while 42.7 percent said they were
in favor.
A large majority (64.7%) in this week's
survey said they favor civil unions.
Texans also support many other rights,
the
poll found, including the right to visit a partner in a hospital
(90.9%), prohibiting workplace or housing discrimination based on
sexual orientation (75.8%) and prohibiting workplace or housing
discrimination based on gender identity (69.7%).
A separate poll also released on
Thursday, the University
of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, found a large majority of Texans
favor either marriage (37%) or civil unions (28%) for gay and lesbian
couples. Only 28 percent of respondents said the state should not
recognize the relationships of gay couples.
One percent said that marriage equality
is the most important “problem” facing America today.
Twenty-four percent listed the economy as their top concern.