Poll: New Jersey residents in shift towards acceptance of equal marriage
A poll released today indicates a shift in the opinion of voters in the US state of New Jersey towards a stronger acceptance of equal marriage.
The Rutgers-Eagleton poll, which was released today, indicated that many people have changed their minds from opposing equal marriage to supporting it.
One quarter of respondents said they had shifted in support of equal marriage, whereas they had opposed it before.
“Not long ago, a ruling like this would have created a significant backlash,” Rutgers-Eagleton polling director David Redlawsk told APP. “Now most voters agree with it.”
According to the poll, 53% of voters said the state should accept a decision by District Judge Mary Jacobson, who last month ruled that, as of today, equal marriage should be allowed by the state. Just 40% said they wanted Governor Chris Christie’s appeal against the ruling, to be heard in the state Supreme Court.
The Governor of New Jersey today abandoned his legal challenge against the state’s same-sex marriage law – just hours after gay couples began tying the knot.
The Republican has fought against introducing equal marriage without a referendum.
The survey was conducted among 799 registered New Jersey voters between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
New Jersey is the 14th US state to legalise equal marriage.
