Majority of Americans Support Gay Unions

A record number of Americans favor allowing gay couples to form legally recognized civil unions, giving them the same rights as married couples in areas such as health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage.

According to a new poll from ABC News/Washington Post, 55 percent support civil unions for gay couples. That's up from 45 percent in an ABC/Post poll in 2006; the previous high was 51 percent in 2004, ABC News reports.

However, behind those majority views sharp political and ideological divisions rage on. Conservative Republicans and evangelical white Protestants oppose civil unions by more than 2-1, and Republicans overall oppose them by 58-39 percent.

Support peaks among adults under age 30, and tanks among seniors. It's highest in the East and West, notably lower in the Midwest and South. Whites overall are more apt than blacks to support gay civil unions, and the idea wins more support among women (59 percent) than men (51 percent, and 47 percent among married men).