Poll: California divided on gay-marriage

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Californians remain closely divided over the issue of same-sex marriage but a majority of voters are against a proposal to legally ban it, a poll indicates.

The poll, conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, found support had grown slightly for the ban, which would be in the form of a state constitutional amendment called Proposition 8.

The survey showed 44 percent of respondents were in favor of the ban on same-sex marriage and 52 percent were against, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The findings were based on telephone surveys of 1,186 likely voters between Oct. 12 and 19. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.