Poll: Little change in gay marriage divide

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's endorsement of gay marriage appears to have made Americans on both sides of the issue even more entrenched in their positions, according to a new poll.

Overall, his announcement last month that he supported gay marriage did little to shift the nation's views on the subject, The Associated Press-GfK survey found. People still seem to favor him over Mitt Romney when it comes to handling social issues.

In the poll, out Friday, 42 percent oppose gay marriage, 40 percent support it and 15 percent are neutral. Last August, the country was similarly divided, with 45 percent opposing, 42 percent favoring and 10 percent neutral.

When asked which candidate Americans trust to do a better job of handling social issues, there was little change from a poll taken about a week before Obama's May 9 announcement; 52 percent now side with Obama, compared with 36 percent for Romney.

More Democrats and liberals said they strongly approved of Obama's handling of gay marriage than they did in August; 41 percent of Democrats now say that, compared with 26 percent then, and 48 percent of liberals say that, up from 28 percent.

But more Republicans and conservatives said they strongly disapproved of his handling of the issue now than before; 53 percent of Republicans said that, compared with 45 percent in August, and 52 percent of conservatives say as much now, up from 43 percent then.

The poll of 1,007 adults nationwide was conducted June 14-18, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.