Politics & Government
Poll: Virginians Support Gay Marriage
Majority of Virginia female, white and black voters, along with democrats, support same-sex marriage.
Virginia voters support same sex-marriage by 50-43 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
The Connecticut school polled 1,030 registered voters in Virginia from July 11 through July 15 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Break down of support by demographic:
- Democratic support is 68-25 percent
- Independent support is 52-39 percent
- Republicans are opposed 68-26 percent
- Women back same-sex marriage 55-39 percent
- Men are opposed 49-43 percent
- White voters support 51-43 percent
- Black voters are opposed 48-42 percent
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that federal benefits should be extended to married gay couples.
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The court did not decide on the legality of state bans like Virginia's. In a 5-4 majority, the court decided that a challenge to gay marriage in California failed on technical reasons limited to that case.
Read more: Gay Marriage: Should Virginia Vote Again?
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The Quinnipiac poll appears to be a shift from Virginians' attitude in 2006, when 57 percent of Virginia voters supported the state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) introduced legislation last year to repeal Virginia's gay marriage ban, but it failed in committee.
Read: Virginia Lawmakers Fail to Repeal Gay Marriage
The ACLU's Rebecca Glenberg told Virginia Public Radio in June that the ACLU's lobbying arm will be reaching out to Virginia lawmakers regarding the state's ban.
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