Poll: Most Virginians Support Marriage Equality

From the Human Rights Campaign: 

Today HRC President Chad Griffin is on the ground in Richmond to unveil the results of a new, bipartisan poll showing that Virginians are generally supportive of LGBT equality. The poll found a strong majority of Virginians – 55 percent – support marriage equality. That number jumps to 71 percent for Virginians under the age of 30, indicative of the direction Virginia is moving. A third of Republicans in the commonwealth also support marriage for loving, committed same-sex couples.

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Additional findings from the poll include:

Support for marriage equality is high throughout most of Virginia. It stands at:

• 68 percent in Northern Virginia

• 53 percent in Central Virginia

• 51 percent in Eastern Virginia

• 58 percent of African Americans in Virginia support marriage equality.

In 2006, a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was passed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Also of note is that this shift is happening just as Virginia is in the midst of a statewide election. On the one hand, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Terry MacAuliffe, supports marriage equality. On the other hand, his Republican counterpart, Ken Cuccinelli (as well as the Republican candidates for Lt. Governor and Attorney General, E.W. Jackson and Mark Obenshain respectively) stand firmly opposed to marriage equality. This, combined with the on-going corruption issues being faced by Cuccinelli, will be a major headache for the Republican candidates over the coming months as the debate about marriage rights continues to rage.