Majority in California back same-sex marriage

A bare majority of California voters support gay marriage, according to a poll released Friday.

The Field Poll of 672 likely voters found that 51 percent oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only.

Forty-two percent of voters support the November ballot measure.

Poll director Mark DiCamillo said the results indicate a substantial change since 2000, when Proposition 22, a similar ballot measure, was approved with 61 percent of the vote.

Proposition 22 and other marriage laws were found to be unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court in May, and gay couples began holding weddings in June.

DiCamillo predicted that election results would not mirror those of eight years ago.

“There has been a long-term (shift) in voter attitudes toward greater acceptance of same-sex marriage,” DiCamillo said.