Ironically, public opinion on same-sex marriage has remained unchanged even though more and more states are attempting to legalize such unions. Same-sex marriages are now legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, and Iowa, and will be legal in Vermont in September.

On Tuesday, California's Supreme Court chose to uphold the Proposition 8 referendum, approved by voters, that banned same-sex marriage in the state. The referendum was put on the November 2008 ballot in response to an earlier court decision that allowed same-sex couples to legally marry in California.

When it comes to the demographics, self-identified liberals show the greatest support for legalizing gay marriage at 75%. By contrast, only 19% of conservatives think same-sex marriages should be legally valid.

Democrats approve of gay marriage, but only by a slim majority (55%) of. However, they are more likely to do so than independents (45%) and Republicans (20%).

Younger Americans are also more supportive of gay marriage.  A majority of 18- to 29-year-olds think gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to legally marry, while support reaches only as high as 40% among the three older age groups.

A separate question in the poll found close to half of Americans, 48%, believe that legalizing same-sex marriage would change society for the worse. That is more than three times the 13% who believe legalizing same-sex marriage would change society for the better. The remaining 38% say it would have no effect on society or do not have an opinion on the matter.

These results are essentially unchanged from a Gallup Poll conducted six years ago.

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