With the issue of same-sex marriage attracting a lot of attention in recent weeks, the results of a CBS News/New York Times Poll showed that a majority of Americans support some kind of legal recognition for same-sex couples.
The poll showed that 38 percent of Americans think same-sex couples should be allowed to get married, while 24 percent said same-sex couples should be allowed to form civil unions.
The combined total of 62 percent favoring some kind of legal recognition compares to the 33 percent that said there should be no legal recognition of same-sex couples.
Reflecting an apparent age gap on the issue, the poll found that Americans between the ages of 18 and 44 are far more likely to support same-sex marriage than people 45 and older.
Fifty-three percent of those 18 to 44 support same-sex marriage, while 17 percent support civil unions and 30 percent are opposed to legal recognition of same-sex couples.
Among those 45 and older, 24 percent support same-sex marriage, 31 percent support civil unions, and 36 percent oppose any legal recognition.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the poll showed strong support for same-sex marriage among Democrats, with 58 percent saying that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married.
Just 9 percent of Republicans support same-sex marriage, although 37 percent support civil unions for same-sex couples. Forty-nine percent of Republicans are opposed to any legal recognition of same-sex couples.
Among independents, 39 percent support same-sex marriage, 23 percent support civil unions, and 35 percent oppose any legal recognition.
The release of the poll results comes just a few days after President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriage.
The survey of 615 adults was conducted May 11th through 13th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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