MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Polls show Tennessee is falling further out of step with the rest of the nation on the issue of gay marriage.
Resistance to legalizing gay marriage is falling in much of the country, but opposition remains strong here in Tennessee.
In results released this week, a poll taken by Middle Tennessee State University shows that 61 percent of residents are opposed to gay marriage with 24 percent in favor. Nationwide just 43 percent are opposed with 48 percent in favor.
Dr. Ken Blake, Director of the MTSU Poll, says that opposition is being led by evangelical Christians.
“In Tennessee we have quite a number of these evangelical Christians. They’re the largest religious group in the state. My guess, I don’t have firm data to support this, but my suspicion is that these attitudes toward are – among evangelicals – are simply rooted to attitudes that aren’t likely to change that much.”
The MTSU Poll surveyed 609 randomly selected registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. MTSU is working now on the spring edition of its twice yearly poll.