POLL FINDS GROWING SUPPORT FOR GAY CIVIL UNIONS: From the Washington Post

Public support appears to be growing for legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, as well as for allowing states to make their own laws regulating gay marriage, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

About half the country -- 51 percent -- favors allowing gay couples to form civil unions with the same basic legal rights as married couples, up 6 percentage points in less than a month. A slightly larger majority also rejected amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages in favor of allowing states to make their own laws, an increase of 8 percentage points in recent weeks.

But it's too early to draw firm conclusions from these results. Polling on gay marriage has been particularly volatile. Support for giving states the right to decide on who can get married stood at 58 percent in January, dipped to 45 percent in February and now stands at 53 percent in the latest Post-ABC News poll. ...

Fifty-nine percent of Americans polled oppose same-sex marriage, up 4 percentage points from last month.

Still, the survey suggests that Bush's endorsement of a constitutional ban is far from popular. Overall, 52 percent said they disapprove of the way Bush is handling the issue of same-sex marriage, while 44 percent approve. And when asked which candidate would better handle the issue, the public was divided evenly between Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

At the same time, Bush could reap political benefits from his endorsement. The survey suggests that the issue is more of a voting concern for opponents of same-sex marriage than for its advocates.

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posted by Eve at 4:52 PM | link

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