The Los Angeles Times said the Public Policy Institute of California poll results released Wednesday indicated that 40 percent of poll respondents supported Proposition 8, which would outlaw the recently legalized practice of gay marriage statewide. The proposition is on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The Aug. 12-19 poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percentage points, found that of the 1,047 state residents questioned, 54 percent opposed the proposed ban.

Yet when directly asked whether they support or oppose gay marriage, respondents were even with 47 percent choosing each response, the Times said.

The Times said the poll's results indicated support for the proposition may be slipping in California as a July poll found that 42 percent of respondents supported the measure and 51 percent opposed it.