Gay marriage supported by record number of New York voters


Curt Garman (l.) and Richard Looke look for a spot to hold their wedding at San Francisco City Hall.
Sanchez/AP
Curt Garman (l.) and Richard Looke look for a spot to hold their wedding at San Francisco City Hall.
ALBANY - A record number of New York voters want gay marriage legalized, a new poll found.
Fifty-six percent of Empire State voters favor same-sex nuptials, up from the previous best of 51% in 2009, according to the Quinnipiac University survey.
"Gov. Cuomo didn't make a big issue of same-sex marriage in his State of the State speech, but he said he was for it and so are most New Yorkers," said Quinnipiac poll director Maurice Carroll.
Empire State Pride Agenda boss Ross Levi hailed the results, saying it's time "loving same-sex couples in New York can finally protect each other and their children just like any other family."
Support split along party lines, with 69% of Democrats and 55% of independent voters onboard, while the majority of Republicans are opposed.
In the city, 55% of voters want gay marriage.
The poll was released as gay marriage backers gained a new ally - environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr.
"This is the last vestige of institutionalized bigotry that's left in this country and we need to get rid of it," Kennedy said in a video released by the Human Rights Campaign.
Cuomo, whose poll popularity and political capital have been soaring, has promised to push for legalizing gay marriage.
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU

 http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/01/27/2011-01-27_gayning_ground_in_samesex_nups_fight.html#ixzz1CkWy8TLp

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