Michigan voters have done a decisive turnaround on gay marriage, according to a new opinuion survey reported by The Detroit News.
Joel Kurth has details of the statewide survey by a Chicago firm:
A majority of Michiganians supports gay marriage and broadening rights for homosexuals, a dramatic reversal from just a few years ago. . . .
Support for same-sex marriage has increased to 56.8 percent, up 12.5 percentage points from last year — movement fueled largely by shifting opinions from Republicans and independents, the poll of 600 registered voters by the Glengariff Group Inc. showed.
The support is in contrast to 2004, when Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
That year, Glengariff found 24 percent of state voters supported gay and lesbian marriages. Now, 54 percent would repeal the ban and replace it with an amendment to allow same-sex marriages, the poll found. . . .
Ninety percent of Michigan voters favor some legal protections for homosexuals.
Kurth quotes the polling group's president as linking the change to the fact that more people know gays and lesbians now.
"I don't think I've ever seen a policy question move as quickly as this one," said Richard Czuba.
Voters were surveyed May 8-10 to Friday. The poll has a error margin of 4 percentage points.
