NASHVILLE, March 10 (UPI) -- A survey shows that Tennesseans oppose gay marriage but overwhelmingly support civil rights for gays such as access to housing and jobs.
The numbers are essentially unchanged since Middle Tennessee University last conducted the poll last fall, despite increasing attention to the issue in the media, the Nashville Tennesssean reported Wednesday.
While more than 80 percent of respondents support job and housing rights for gays, only 20 percent support the right of gays to marry, the poll showed. Nearly 32 percent of Tennesseans supported civil unions for gay couples.
The results show that most Tennesseans support what they perceive as basic human rights for gays as long as those rights do not infringe on their religious beliefs.
In recent weeks, mayors in New York, California and other states have performed weddings for same-sex couples. President Bush recently announced his support for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as "the union of a man and a woman."
