A new poll released Friday finds
Americans nearly evenly split on gay marriage.
The new Angus
Reid poll shows opponents of gay marriage narrowly edge out
supporters. Forty-three percent of the 1,001 adults contacted online
favor gay marriage, while 46 percent remain opposed. The poll's 3.1
percent margin of error leaves American's evenly divided on the
issue.
But when asked if gay couples deserve
“the same rights as married couples” approval jumped to 53
percent, with only 37 percent opposed.
Nearly half (47%) of respondents agreed
with the statement: “Do you think being homosexual is something
people choose to be?” Thirty-four said being gay was “something
people are born with.” Another 19% said they were not sure.
The results come on the same day D.C.
Mayor Adrian Fenty signed a gay marriage bill into law and after
a spate of defeats for the marriage equality movement in the U.S.,
including the
death of a gay marriage bill in the New York Senate and the
repeal
of Maine's gay marriage law approved by lawmakers in the spring.
Gay marriage advocates
in New Jersey are lobbying lawmakers to approve a gay marriage bill
before Governor-elect Chris Christie, a gay marriage opponent, takes
office.