This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If a referendum were held to legalize gay marriage nationwide, it would pass.
That's according to a Gallup poll released Monday, in which 52 percent of Americans said they would favor such a law and 43 percent expressed opposition. Of course, there is no referendum, and any such effort would drag Utah along kicking and screaming. According to a 2012 Utah Voter Poll, 72 percent of this state's residents oppose gay marriage.
Monday's Gallup poll found that weekly churchgoers were least likely to support a federal gay marriage initiative, at 23 percent. (The 2012 Utah Voter Poll found that just 8 percent of Mormons favored gay marriage, in contrast to 60 percent of those from other religions and 76 percent with no religious affiliation.)
A 40-point chasm separates Republicans and Democrats: 30 percent and 70 percent, respectively, support nationwide gay marriage.
Gallup also found that 54 percent of Americans believe that marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized as valid, showing little change since the Supreme Court's July ruling to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and make same-sex couples eligible for federal benefits in states that have legalized gay marriage. A pre-ruling poll in May showed 53 percent favored recognizing legal marriages.
The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
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