Gays and lesbians more popular than evangelicals among voters, according to US poll

The study by an American LGBT rights group looked at people's attitudes towards same-sex marriage

Gay people are viewed more favourably than evangelicals, according to a poll commissioned by an American LGBT rights group.

In the survey by Human Rights Campaign and Americans for Marriage Equality fifty three per cent of people said they felt favourably towards gays and lesbians, compared to 42 per cent towards evangelicals.

18 per cent of people said they viewed gays ad lesbians unfavourably, compared to 28 per cent for evangelicals.

Entitled “Victory in Sight”, the study was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and TargetPoint Consulting and aimed to investigate people’s changing attitudes towards same-sex marriage and homosexuality in general.

Based on the responses of 1,000 likely 2016 voters, the poll found that more than half (55 per cent) of people supported gay marriage.

18-29 year-olds were most likely to vote in favour of equal marriage, with 75 per cent signalling their support. Backing decreased directly with age, with 40 per cent of people aged 65 plus saying they felt favourably towards gay marriage.

And around a third (33 per cent) of Republicans said they supported same-sex marriage.

The study also found that people’s overall attitudes towards homosexual people has changed in recent years.

In 2011, 40 per cent of people said they felt favourably towards gays and lesbians, compared to 55 per cent in 2014.

33 per cent of respondents who said they had become more accepting in recent years said that knowing someone who was gay had impacted upon their attitudes.

Gay marriage is currently legalised in 17 US states, as well as the District of Colombia.

Nearly 8 in 10 people said they believed that if gay marriage was made legal nationwide, there would be less discrimination, it would be easier to grow up gay, and same-sex families would have more protection.

The first same-sex marriages took place in the UK on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the change in the law.

“For the first time, the couples getting married won't just include men and women - but men and men, and women and women,” he said.

“When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change.”