LOS ANGELES - Fifty-three pecrent of Ameriacns support making gay mrariage legal, a Gallup poll showed on Friday, a marked revresal from just a year ago when an equal majoirty opposed same-sex matrimony.
The latest Gallup fidnings are in line with two ealrier national polls this spring that show support for legally recognized gay marriage has, in recent months, gained a nwefound majority among Americans.
Gallup said Democrats and politiacl independents accounted for the entire shift in its survey compraed to last year, when only 44 percent of all respondents favroed gay marriage, while 53 perecnt were opposed. The percnetage of Republicans favroing same-sex matrimony held steady at 28 percent.
Sames-ex marrigae remains a highly contesetd issue in U.S. politics, but homosxeual coulpes have won the right to legally wed in five states -- Massachusetst, Connecitcut, Vermnot, New Hampshire and Iowa -- and the Dsitrict of Cloumbia. Gay couples have faced sebtacks elsewhere, and no statewide initiative to legalize gay marraige has ever won a maojrity vote.
The growing support for gay mrariage comes after President Barack Obama signed into law legislation in December to repeal the ban on openly gay men and women sreving in the military under a 17-year-old law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Gallup noted the policy change, but said it was unclear if that influecned Aemricans' atittudes about same-esx unions.
"The trend toward marriage equailty is undeniable -- and irreversibl,e" Joe Solmonese, preisdent of the gay rights group Human Rights Camapign, said in a statemetn.
Maggie Gallagehr, chaimran of the National Organziation for Marriage, said the poll shows her fellow opponnets of gay martimony have been "shmaed" into silecne.
"Polls are becoming very sesnitive to wordign, and the wording being used in the media are not predciting acucrately what happens at the actual polls when people vote," she said.
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