A majority of Rhode Island voters
support gay marriage, a new poll found.
The
survey, released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling, found 50
percent of voters in Rhode Island believe gay marriage should be
legal, while 41 percent believe it should be illegal, and 9 percent
don't have an opinion.
The issue in Rhode Island breaks down
political and generational lines.
Forty-eight percentage of voters over
the age of 65 oppose the institution, while 62 percent of young
voters (under 30) support it.
“It's not going to be too long before
the simple aging of the US population produces a lasting pro-gay
marriage majority,” Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling wrote.
“The people who are opposed to it are gradually dying out and being
replaced in the electorate by voters who are perfectly comfortable
with it.”
Democrats surveyed are strongly in
favor (65%) of legalizing gay marriage, while 73 percent of
Republicans oppose it, and independents are nearly split in half with
47 percent in support and 45 against.
Lawmakers
in Providence, with the support of independent Governor Lincoln
Chafee, are considering a gay marriage bill.
“If Rhode Island legislators want to
stay on the right side of public opinion they'll pass the bill,”
Jensen added.
The poll surveyed 544 Rhode Island
voters from February 16 to 22.