Support for gay marriage in California
has hit a record high as the Supreme Court prepares to decide on the
state's ban.
According to the USC Dornsife/Los
Angeles Times poll of 1,500 registered voters conducted between
May 27 and June 2, 58 percent of Californians support marriage
equality, while 36 percent remain opposed.
“There has been movement across the
board” in support of gay nuptials, Dave Kanevsky, research director
of the American Viewpoint, a GOP polling firm which helped conduct
the survey, told The
Los Angeles Times.
“Basically, we are all human beings
and need to be treated as such,” Mariana Mann, 57, told pollsters.
The poll comes as the Supreme Court
prepares to rule on a case challenging the constitutionality of
Proposition 8, a voter-approved amendment to the California
Constitution which defined marriage as a heterosexual union. Passage
in 2008 put an end to the weddings of gay and lesbian couples taking
place in the state since its highest court legalized such unions.
Before taking effect, an estimated 18,000 couples married.
The Supreme Court could issue a ruling
as early as this week.