59 percent of Rhode Islanders support legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Rhode Island is the only New England state without same-sex marriage, apart from Maine, where, in 2009, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a law legalising gay marriage, then saw voters "veto" it at the ballot box.
The survey of 502 likely Rhode Island voters was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on 7-12 July. The margin of error was 4.4 percent.
"This poll makes clear that there is no reason why we can't enact a marriage equality law in Rhode Island within the next year," said Kathy Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island. "Rhode Islanders are ready to allow loving, committed same-sex couples to gain the dignity and respect that marriage brings."
Nationally, a new poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation found that 52 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. They said yes to the question, "Do you think gays and lesbians should have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid?"