A majority of Republicans support
either marriage or civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, a poll
found.
The
survey released last week by Public Policy Polling found 51
percent of Republican voters believe in government recognition of gay
unions.
Twelve percent of respondents said they
favor full marriage, 39% support civil unions, and 48% believe gay
couples should not be recognized.
“To put the 51% of Republicans who
support legal recognition for gay couples into perspective, that's
higher than the 45% who approve of the job John Boehner's doing as
Speaker of the House,” Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen said in
announcing the poll.
A majority of Tea Party Republicans
(57%) oppose giving gay couples any legal recognition. However, 60%
of Republicans who don't consider themselves part of the Tea Party
support gay unions (16% marriage, 44% civil unions).
Opposition is more likely among middle
-to -low income Republicans who make less than $50,000. But nearly a
quarter (24%) of those making over $100,000 support marriage
equality.
The telephone survey was conducted over
3 months starting in March and included over 1,000 self-identified
GOP voters.