News Flash: 50% of Californians now support gay marriage, poll finds

Less than two years after Californians approved a ban on gay marriage, a new poll found that more residents support same-sex union than oppose it.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California poll, 50% of respondents support gay marriage and 45% oppose it. The PPIC said it marks the highest level of support for gay marriage their polls have recorded in California.

Some gay rights activists had planned to ask voters to repeal the ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, this year. But several key groups decided to push back that effort until at least 2011.

A Los Angeles Times/USC poll released in November found a small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue on the ballot in 2010.

The PPIC polled 2,002 California adults by phone from March 9-16. It had a margin of error of 2%