In contrast to last week’s LA Times poll, KTVU News released a new field poll on Tuesday suggesting that, for the first time ever, a majority of Californians support same-sex marriage. In the poll, 51% support marriage, 42 do not, and 7 had no comment.

Last week’s LA Times poll suggested that 54% of Californians do not support same sex marriage while only 36% do.

Mark DiCamillo, director of The Field Poll in California, who has been tracking the issue for thirty years, said, “It is an historic change in sociologic terms. There seems to be generational replacement going on. Younger voters are much more accommodating to allowing same sex marriage than older voters. So as younger voters start replacing older voters, they will ultimately become the majority.”

The KTVU poll also suggests that coastal Californians favor allowing same sex marriage while those living inland oppose it. Also, not surprising, those who describe themselves as Protestant or Catholic are against same sex marriage, while people in other religions are a bit more open to it. Also, people who say they have no religious preference are overwhelmingly in favor of allowing gay marriage with a 81% responding positively in the poll.

DiCamillo says he thinks the historic State Supreme Court ruling earlier this month legalizing same sex marriage may have accelerated the trend toward acceptance.

If the poll is accurate, it is good news for November. There will likely be an initiative on the November ballot to amend California’s constitution so that it bans same sex marriage, overriding the Supreme Court decision. The poll suggests that there is a strong possibility that the ballot would not succeed.