Colorado's enactment of civil unions is just days away, but according to a recent poll, voters are ready to take it a step further by supporting full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
A poll by Public Policy Polling shows Coloradans are in support of gay marriage by a 50/38 margin, and voters under the age of 30 support it by a 74/17 margin.
According to the poll, 50 percent of Coloradans support the state's recent passage of the civil unions bill, which is set to go into effect Wednesday at midnight on May 1. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they would support same-sex marriage.
The same poll also found that 49 percent of Coloradans favor Congress passing stricter gun control and an assault weapons ban.
“Republicans are looking for a path forward after losing 6 elections in a row for President, Governor, and the Senate in Colorado,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But being on the wrong side of public opinion about hot button issues like gun control and gay marriage isn’t going to get them out of the wilderness.”
Most of those surveyed were women, and 26 percent identified their political affiliation as moderate.
Signing of the state's civil unions bill came less than a year after it was blocked by the then-Republican controlled House.
"It's really meaningful. To have the recognition of your love and relationship just like any other relationship by the state is an important both legal and symbolic thing," Democratic House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, a sponsor of the bill and the first gay lawmaker to hold the title of speaker in Colorado said last month.
While civil unions grant gay couples rights similar to marriage, such as hospital visitation rights, parental rights, and personal property transfers, a couple's civil union may not necessarily be recognized outside of Colorado.
“Each state has their own set of statutory framework in terms of recognizing civil unions or same-sex marriages,” Kyle Martelon, an attorney the Colorado law firm Wedgle & Spahn told LGBT magazine Out Front Colorado. “You have to look at the specific statutes in that particular state to see whether or not they would recognize a Colorado civil union.”
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