Poll finds majority support gay marriage legislation
A small majority of Irish people support some form of gay marriage, according to an opinion poll published this morning.
Fifty one per cent of respondents to the Irish Examiner/Red C survey said they were in favour of giving legal status to gay couples, while exactly half also said they would be happy to allow gay people to adopt children.
Acceptance of homosexuality was found to be strongest in the younger age groups and among people with higher income brackets.
However, one-in-six respondents still said they thought homosexuality was wrong, with twice as many men as women harbouring such an attitude.
One-third also said they would be uncomfortable with having a gay family member, while the same number said they would hesitate to vote for a gay politician in the next general election.
