Many Americans OK with Gay Marriage with Religious Exceptions

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds that Americans are slightly more likely to favor than oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, but most believe wedding-related businesses should be allowed to deny service to same-sex couples for religious reasons.

The polls finds that roughly half the country also thinks local officials and judges with similar religious objections ought to be exempt from any requirement that they must issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

The poll finds that 44 percent of Americans favor and 39 percent oppose legal same-sex marriage in their own states, while 15 percent expressed no opinion. Yet the country is evenly divided, 48 percent to 48 percent, on how the Supreme Court should rule on the matter.