By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A day after President Barack Obama announced his administration would no longer oppose recognition of same-sex marriage, a new poll revealed that a majority of New Yorkers support gay marriage.
Across New York State, voters said they would support same-sex marriage laws 54 to 39 percent, with both New York City and upstate voters favoring the move.
"Everyone supports same-sex marriage, except Republicans and senior citizens," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement.
The backing for legal gay marriage comes on the heels of President Obama's announcement that the Justice Department would withdraw their fight to preserve the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars recognition of same-sex marriage. The administration had said previously that they were only fighting to uphold the law on the grounds that it is the Justice Department's job to defend existing law.
The decision, seen by supporters of gay marriage as an important move to legalization of same-sex union, was fully supported by Manhattan lawmakers Rep. Jerrold Nadler and City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn.
"I commend Attorney General [Eric] Holder and President Obama for their leadership, integrity, and courage," Nadler said in a statement Wednesday.
"This marks the first time that the federal government has recognized that a law designed to harm LGBT Americans and their families cannot be justified," he said.
Nadler said that he would re-introduce his "Respect for Marriage Act" to repeal DOMA in the House.
Despite the support for gay marriage in Manhattan, State Senator Tom Duane's same-sex marriage bill was rejected in Albany in an emotional 38 to 24 vote in 2009.
With Governor Andrew Cuomo signaling his support for LGBT rights and gay marriage, Duane said he would reintroduce the bill in the State Senate this session.
On the issue of teacher tenure and public schools, voters overwhelmingly aligned with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and said that teachers should be fired based on performance and not tenure.
New Yorkers supported merit-based firings 85 to 12 percent, according to the poll.
"All those ads by the teachers union may not be working as planned," Carroll said.
"New Yorkers like the people who teach their kids, but they don't like the union that placed the ads," he said.
