A poll released Wednesday finds a
record number of Californians support gay marriage.
The survey by the Public
Policy Institute of California found 50 percent of adults agree
that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, with 45
percent opposed.
In 2000, the first year pollsters asked
the question, only 39 percent of Californians favored gay marriage,
while 55% opposed it. Support has hoovered at about 45% for much of
the decade.
The poll also found an overwhelming
majority of Californians (75%) support President Obama's call to end
“don't ask, don't tell,” the 1993 law that forbids gay troops
from serving openly. Nineteen percent say they remain opposed to
repeal of the law.
Earlier in the year, gay rights
advocates decided to put off mounting a challenge this year to
Californian's gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2008. Among the
reasons cited for the postponement was stagnant poll numbers.
Support for gay marriage is highest
among Democrats (64%), but a majority (67%) of Republicans still
oppose the institution. Opposition is strongest in rural areas such
as the Central Valley.
Pollsters contacted 2,002 California
adults by phone from March 9-16.