Opposition to same-sex marriage in Kentucky has hit its lowest level since 2004 when voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Results from the latest Bluegrass Poll, released Tuesday, find that 50 percent of registered voters in Kentucky oppose same-sex marriage, while 37 percent favor it and 12 percent remain unsure, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The result is a a drop from the 55 percent opposition recorded in a February poll, and a sharp decline from the 72 percent that voted in favor of the ban in 2004.
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“We’ve hit a bit of a threshold, and I think the tipping point is soon to follow,” said Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign. “The opposition has been teetering on the edge of having a majority for a long time, and that ground is rapidly slipping out from under them.”
And while opposition to same-sex marriage decreased five percentage points since February, the shift appeared to equally move into the support and not sure categories — both increased by two percentage points compared to February.
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Opposition was greater among those 50 and over, Republicans, and eastern Kentucky residents.
A federal judge overturned Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage on June 30. The state is appealing to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The court will hear arguments in both cases, along with gay marriage cases in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee, on Aug. 6 in a single session.