A recent poll shows a majority of
Pennsylvanians support the legalization of gay marriage.
According to a
Franklin & Marshall College poll of 526 registered voters, 54
percent support “allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally,”
while 41 percent remain opposed.
A majority (53%) also support a
constitutional amendment which would allow gay couples to marry.
Forty-one percent said they are opposed to such an amendment.
Pennsylvanians also support civil
unions for gay couples by a 2-1 margin.
Rep. Brian Sims, an openly gay Democrat
from Philadelphia, credited increased visibility of the LGBT
community for the increasing support for gay rights.
“The amount of people coming out has
skyrocketed, and the level of invisibility made it foreign to people.
It used to be 'them' and 'they,' but now it is 'we' and 'us,'”
Sims told the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette. “I think LGBT rights in Pennsylvania are
inevitable. The question is, when is it going to happen?”
An ongoing attempt to constitutionally
ban such unions in the Pennsylvania constitution continues to receive
wide support in the Legislature. Twenty-nine Republican lawmakers
have co-sponsored a constitutional amendment which seeks to define
marriage as a heterosexual union.
(Related: Twenty-nine
Pennsylvania lawmakers back proposed gay marriage ban.)