OHIO POLL 57% support ban on gay marriage

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A poll released Friday found the majority of likely Ohio voters favor a state constitutional ban on gay marriages, although support for the Nov. 2 ballot issue decreased from an earlier survey.
The issue got more support in the earlier poll because it was taken in September after the Republican National Convention and the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when President Bush also got a temporary surge in support, poll director Eric Rademacher said.
Bush backs an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban gay marriages.
The Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati and conducted by its Institute for Policy Research, found that 57 percent of likely Ohio voters supported the amendment that would make marriage between one man and one woman the only valid union under the Ohio Constitution.
Forty percent said they intended to vote against the amendment and 2 percent were undecided, the poll found.
The telephone poll was conducted among 757 like voters picked at random statewide between Oct. 11 and Sunday. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
An Ohio Poll released in August found that 56 percent of likely voters supported the ban, while a September survey found that 65 percent supported it.
State government leaders are divided on the issue. Gov. Bob Taft, U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich and Attorney General Jim Petro oppose the ban. State Auditor Betty Montgomery, Treasurer Joe Deters and Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell support it. All the officeholders are Republicans.