A majority of North Carolina voters
oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban the state
from recognizing gay and legal couples with marriage, civil unions or
domestic partnerships.
According to a
Public Policy Polling survey released on Wednesday, 55 percent of
respondents would vote against the proposed amendment, 30 percent
would vote for it, and 15 percent said they were not sure.
Lawmakers on Monday will return to
Raleigh to debate whether to send the amendment to the voters next
year. A version sponsored in the House would define marriage as a
heterosexual union, leaving the door open for other forms of
recognition for gay couples. A stronger proposal in the Senate seeks
to ban gay couples from marriage, civil unions and domestic
partnerships.
Other questions in the survey suggest
voters would approve the amendment if the House's version is adopted.
A majority of voters (61%) said gay
marriage should be illegal, while 31 percent said such unions should
be legal, and 8 percent refused to answer the question.
But a majority (54%) of respondents
said gay couples should be allowed to marry (25%) or form a civil
union (29%). Forty-three percent said there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple's relationship.
(Related: Singer
Chely Wright joins rally against North Carolina's proposed gay
marriage ban.)