Poll: North Carolinians reject same-sex marriage, but also amendment banning it

Public Policy Polling released a survey on Wednesday that showed a majority of North Carolinians oppose both making same-sex marriage legal in that state and a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

In the poll, 61 percent said that they want same-sex marriage in the state to remain illegal. However, 55 percent said they oppose an amendment that would define marriage in the state as one man and one woman and ban any legal equivalents to marriage. Only 30 percent said they would support such an amendment.

The discrepancy comes from North Carolinians’ support for some rights for same-sex couples. Fifty-four percent support either same-sex marriage (25 percent) or civil unions (29 percent), and 43 percent oppose any relationship rights for same-sex couples.

“It’s pretty simple: North Carolinians don’t support gay marriage but they also don’t think this constitutional amendment is necessary,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, in a statement. “And they also think this particular proposal goes too far by targeting civil unions, which many voters in the state support.”