A new Quinnipiac poll found that a strong majority of Americans now favor legalizing same-sex marriage—whether by state vote or by Supreme Court ruling.

Both Democrats and Independents strongly approve of legalizing gay marriage (70/24 and 61/34, respectively), while Republicans oppose it by a 28-point margin (62/34). The result: 56 percent of voters approve, 38 percent oppose.

Quinnipiac provides a summary of its most recent findings:

American voters say 56 - 38 percent they would support a U.S. Supreme Court decision granting same-sex couples the constitutional right to marry, according to a Quinnipiac University National poll released today. Voters support 56 - 36 percent same-sex marriage in general.

Backing a possible Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage are Democrats 70 - 24 percent, independent voters 61 - 34 percent, men 55 - 41 percent and women 57 - 35 percent. Republicans are opposed 62 - 34 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe- ack) University Poll finds.

Voters also oppose 53 - 40 percent allowing individual states to prohibit same-sex marriage, and support 57 - 36 percent requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. Democrats, independent voters, men and women back same-sex marriage in these questions, with Republicans opposed.

Allahpundit highlights a significant aspect of the poll: Americans don’t seem to differentiate between states approving gay marriage or the Supreme Court imposing it on states. Quinnipiac first asked generally whether voters approved of same-sex marriage, then asked again if they would approve of the Supreme Court deciding the issue. The numbers were virtually identical, with only 5 percent more Republicans and men and 2 percent more Independents opposing it. Here are the results of the general question followed by those of the SCOTUS-decided follow-up: