New poll: 53% favor government recognition of same­sex couples; figures about the same as last year's

Steve Tanis, left, and his partner of 13 years, Rich Garraputa, both from Greensboro, N.C., walk toward the North Carolina Legislative Building after a rally against a state constitutional amendment banning all domestic legal unions in North Carolina except those between a man and a woman, on Halifax Mall in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. Ted Richardson /AP Photo

A new nationwide telephone poll by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center reveals that 53% of 1,000 adults surveyed believe the government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex, about the same as last year.

48 percent, said they would favor a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

57 percent said same-sex couples should be entitled to the same legal benefits as married couples of the opposite sex.