Majority of California voters don't want constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages

This is the "Field Poll," as Markos calls it "the only poll that matters in California."

A majority of registered Californian voters oppose changing the constitution of the most populous U.S. state to bar gays from marrying, according to poll released on Wednesday.

The Field Poll survey found 51 percent against approving a possible November ballot measure to prohibit gay marriage, with 43 percent in favor. A slightly differently worded question on the same issue found 54 percent opposed and 40 percent in favor.

The poll follows a state Supreme Court decision this month that barring homosexuals from marrying violated the California Constitution. Opponents of same-sex marriage have intensified efforts to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.

It's only a matter of time, with youth overwhelming support granting marriage rights to gay couples, which is why the right-wing homophobes want constitutional amendments. They are quite literally trying to stop the public from eventually approving of gay unions, even if the majority of the public agrees it's okay and wants to do it. Their hands will be tied by these onerous constitutional amendments. If you just leave it up to the people, there's no need for an amendment. Or, you could have an amendment that stop courts from requiring gay marriage but would permit the legislature to approve it (not that I'd approve of such an amendment, but still).

The poll found a strong generational gap on the issue, with those aged 18-29 approving of gay marriage by 68 percent and those 65 or older disapproving by 55 percent.

The poll found that in recent decades a growing number of Californians have approved allowing same-sex couples to marry, with 51 percent of those polled now approving, up from 44 percent in 2006 and 30 percent in 1985.