Good news for same-sex couples aspiring to tie the knot: a new survey has found that gay marriage ranks low among the top concerns of voters ahead of the 2012 U.S. presidential elections.
Conducted on April 4 and 5, the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that a mere 28 percent of those polled ranked marriage equality as "very important" to their vote. Significantly higher on voters' list of election concerns were the economy and jobs -- which topped the list, at 86 and 84 percent respectively -- along with health care at 74 percent.
Among those to praise the results was Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese, who called support for LGBT equality "common sense."
Solmonese noted in a statement: "Fair-minded people are increasingly aware that extending rights, benefits, and protections to their LGBT neighbors strengthens the communities they live and work in. It’s important to remember that so much of what we’re fighting for -- marriage equality, workplace protections, fair treatment when our loved ones are hospitalized -- contributes to a strengthening of the issues voters care about the most." He added, "This latest data reinforces the fact that supporting LGBT equality is not a divisive wedge issue."
The Pew Center's poll results are in line with other surveys for support of marriage equality. A 2011 Gallup poll found 53 percent of Americans support marriage equality, reported The Advocate; while a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll recently found that an astounding 85 percent of people of faith say their religious beliefs lead them to the conclusion that LGBT people should be treated equally under the law, HRC reported.
The poll also found that health care and education voters favor Obama by double-digits, while those who rank the federal budget deficit as a top priority favor Romney by a 19-point margin.
Check out where other issues rank among voters, according to the Pew Center poll, below:
