A bit of good news - just for variety

BOSTON (AP) - Two new polls released Sunday show Massachusetts lawmakers could be bucking public opinion if they try to thwart the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling last week that found the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

Fifty percent of Massachusetts residents surveyed for a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll said they agreed with the ruling, while 38 percent opposed it. A separate Boston Sunday Herald poll found 49 percent said they support legalizing gay marriage, while 38 percent oppose it.

Both polls, conducted after Tuesday's ruling, had margins of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Moreover, while I was right in predicting that state legislators would "rush rush rush" to push an amendment to the state constitution to get around the ruling, both polls had Massachusetts residents opposing such a change, by 53-36 in the Globe/WBZ poll and 54-36 in the Herald poll. The similarity of results adds to the confidence that these figures actually reflect public sentiment.

Unfortunately, the country as a whole doesn't seem to agree: A recent Pew Research Center survey says Americans oppose legalizing gay marriage by a margin of 59-32.

Still, what's the line from "Contact?" "Small steps, small steps."