October 10 - Support for Same-Sex Civil Unions, Not Marriage, Up

Support for same-sex civil unions is on the rise with nearly three in five Americans currently favoring it. A new Pew Research Center survey shows 57 percent of Americans favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil unions, or legal agreements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples.

Opposition to same-sex civil unions has, meanwhile, continued to slip with 37 percent against it, down from 47 percent in 2003.

Among those who oppose same-sex marriage, 30 percent say they would support civil unions.

The steady opposition to gay marriage may be reflective of the public's values. Americans are more likely to say homosexual behavior is morally wrong than not. Nearly half of the public (49 percent) says it is morally wrong and 9 percent of Americans say it is morally acceptable. Thirty-five percent say it is not a moral issue.

According to the Pew Center's findings, 45 percent say supporters of same-sex marriage should push hard to legalize gay marriage as soon as possible. At the same time, 42 percent say they shouldn't push too hard because it could create bad feelings against homosexuals.

Notably, most Americans (64 percent) say gays and lesbians face more discrimination than any other group, including Muslims (58 percent), Hispanics (52 percent), blacks (49 percent), women (37 percent), Jews (35 percent), evangelical Christians (27 percent), atheists (26 percent) and Mormons (24 percent).