Support for gay marriage among Ohio
voters remains steady at 50 percent.
According to a Quinnipiac University
survey of 1,174 Ohio voters conducted by phone from May 7 to 12, 50
percent of respondents support allowing gay and lesbian couples to
marry, while 43 percent remain opposed.
That's a 1 percentage drop in
opposition from a similar poll conducted in February.
A federal judge in April ordered Ohio
to recognize the out-of-state marriages of gay couples. U.S.
District Judge Timothy Black stayed the majority of his ruling, but
made an exception for the lawsuit's four plaintiffs, ordering the
state to recognize their marriages for the purposes of birth
certificates.
“The future of same-sex marriage in
Ohio is now before the courts, but if it were up to the voters, the
issue would be close to a tossup, with support just hitting 50
percent,” said
Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University
Poll.
Opposition is highest among Republicans
(66%), though opposition has decreased 4 percentage points since
2012. A plurality of independents (49%) and a large majority of
Democrats (74%) said they support such unions.
The poll also found a large majority
(72%) of young adults under 34 favor marriage equality. Twenty-four
percent said they were opposed.