The nation is divided when it comes to legalizing same-sex marriage.
Fifty percent of Americans think that the Supreme Court should rule that same-sex marriage must be legal nationwide, compared to 48 percent who say the Supreme Court should not and three percent refused to answer, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
The poll was conducted just before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that will decide whether state laws banning same-sex marriages are or are not constitutional.
Americans, however, are more likely to favor than oppose a law allowing same-sex couples to stop being legally married in their own states: 46 percent favor this, compared to 36 percent. Fourteen percent said they neither favor nor oppose, and two percent refused to answer.
The poll also found:
— A partisan divide over same-sex marriage. Two-thirds of Democrats compared to less than three in 10 Republicans say they support legal same-sex marriages.
— Support for wedding businesses refusing services to same-sex couples dips. Now, 52 percent of Americans say that businesses in states where same-sex marriage is legal should be allowed to refuse wedding services to same-sex couples because of religious beliefs, compared to 57 percent who said this at the beginning of February.
— Religious freedom is more important than gay rights. Most Americans think it is more important for the government to protect religious freedom than the rights of gays and lesbians when the two conflict, by a 56 percent to 40 percent margin.
— Americans are divided on how they think President Obama is handling gay rights. Forty-eight percent say they approve, compared to 49 percent who say they disapprove.
The random poll of roughly 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted April 23-27 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
