The Los Angeles Times and KTLA have released a poll showing that 52% of Californians reject the state’s Supreme Court’s decision to allow same sex marriages and 54% support a constitutional ban of same sex marriage that is probably going to be on the November ballot. 36% in the poll opposed such a ban and 41% supported the ruling.

Yet, there is a silver lining in the poll, that suggests people in the state are moving closer to accepting non-traditional marriages, which could create openings for supporters of same-sex marriage as the campaign unfolds. More than half of Californians said that gay relationships were not morally wrong, that they would not degrade traditional heterosexual marriages and that all that mattered was that a relationship be loving and committed, regardless of gender.

It was also found that democrats and independents supported the Court’s decision by just over 50%. Furthermore, those under 45 were less likely to favor a constitutional amendment than their elders and were more supportive of the court’s decision to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. They also disagreed more strongly than their elders with the notion that gay relationships threatened traditional marriage.

Pollsters said that while there is a majority of support for the ban, because ballot measures on controversial topics often lose support during a campaign, strategists typically want to start out well above the 50 percent support level. As mentioned before, they are only starting out with 54%. 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has vetoed two bills sanctioning gay marriage, has said he respects the court’s decision and that he will not support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Californians were split on his stance, with 45% agreeing and 46% disagreeing.

The governor, who in his nearly five years in office has often butted heads with his GOP colleagues, was once again on the opposite side of most in his party: Nearly 7 in 10 Republicans disagreed with his views on the court decision and the amendment.

The poll interviewed 834 Californians, including 705 registered voters, on May 20-21. The margin of sampling error is 3 percentage points in either direction overall, and 4 points for registered voters.