Big majority for same-sex marriage/civil unions: Poll

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support giving same-sex couples the right to marry or form legally recognized civil unions, according to a new national poll.

The survey, by Public Policy Polling, found only 34 percent opposed to letting either become law.

Public support for civil unions is on the uptick, according to the survey: 34 percent favor the "everything but marriage" alternative, up from 31 percent in a mid-January poll. Thirty-one percent endorse marriage, down from 34 percent.

Washington voters, in 2009, ratified the state Legislature's decision to extend a broad range of legal recognition to same-sex couples.

The issue is one that divides Democrats and Republicans: 76 percent of Democrats endorse either same-sex marriage (46 percent) or civil unions (30 percent).

Among Republicans, however, only 10 percent endorsed same-sex marriage and 34 percent civil unions. Fifty-five percent said they support neither.

Age is also a big factor in attitude. Support for same-sex marriage is at 41 percent among young voters aged 18 to 29. By contrast, only 22 percent of those over 65 support the marriage option.

The nationwide survey of 1,005 voters was taken Feb. 3 to 6 and has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.1 percent. The poll was conducted for the liberaldailykos.com website, but Public Policy Polling is an independent firm whose findings often do not track with opinions of its sponsor.

 seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.