POLL: Majority of Americans Oppose 'License to Discriminate'

The majority of Americans believe businesses should not be able to deny services to LGBT people because of faith-based objections, nor should they be allowed to discriminate in employment, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

In the poll, conducted last week after outcry over recent moves to enact "license to discriminate" laws in Arkansas and Indiana, 54 percent of respondents said businesses shouldn't have the right to deny services, with 28 percent saying they should, and 55 percent saying an employer's religious beliefs don't justify antigay discrimination, while 27 percent thought employers should be able to discriminate in hiring, Reuters reports.

The poll also found 52 percent of respondents supporting marriage equality, with only 32 percent opposed, and 55 percent saying states that don't allow same-sex marriages should nonetheless recognize those performed elsewhere.

Those surveyed differ on how best to make laws on same-sex marriage, however. Thirty-four percent said the U.S. Supreme Court should declare a nationwide constitutional right to marry, 22 percent said states should decide in voter referenda, 11 percent thought state legislatures were the proper venue, and 8 percent chose Congress to decide whether same-sex couples should be able to wed. About 24 percent were unsure how to handle the issue.

The pollsters conducted the survey online, getting responses from 892 people age 18 and older. It has a "credibility interval," similar to a margin of error, of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.