In Brief

Staff Reports

60 Percent Of North Carolinians Oppose Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban

ELON, NORTH CAROLINA -- A Elon University Poll released Monday found that Six out of Ten persons in North Carolina would oppose an amendment to the state constitution that prevents any same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships or civil unions.

According to the polling data released by the university, only 38 percent of respondents said they support same-sex marriage, however, a majority (60%) said they are opposed to the proposed Amendment One while conversely 32 percent said that they favor the amendment.

Overall the data released showed that the majority of respondents (67%) favor either marriage (38%) or civil unions (29%) for gay couples. Only 29 percent say gay couples deserve no legal recognition.

North Carolina's voters are slated to decide on the measure during the state's May 8th primary. If approved, the amendment would bar North Carolina from recognizing same-sex marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic partnerships.

“These results reflect what's occurring nationwide,” said John Robinson, director of communications for the Elon University Poll. “Opposition to any legal recognition for same-sex couples has been on the decline for a year and support for full marriage rights has been increasing. Our results suggest that the majority of North Carolinians do not want same-sex marriages and domestic partnerships banned in the state constitution. Further, it appears that citizens support at least some kind of legal recognition for same-sex couples, either civil unions or marriages.”

The poll surveyed 534 North Carolina residents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.24 percentage points. Support for the amendment has fallen 6 percent since a similar poll was conducted in February.