The poll also shows the amendment favored by a majority of voters statewide.

The Bluegrass Poll, conducted by the Louisville Courier-Journal and published Tuesday, showed 72 percent of likely Kentucky voters support the amendment, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 2.

Twenty-two percent were opposed and 6 percent were undecided.

In Northern Kentucky, 64 percent of likely voters support the amendment, with 28 percent and 8 percent undecided.

The poll questioned 657 voters by telephone from Sept. 10 to 15. The margin of error was 3.8 percentage points.

Percentages based on subsamples are subject to a higher potential margin of error.

Backers of the amendment come from every region of Kentucky, every age and racial group and almost every religious category, as well as from Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Support for a similar federal constitutional amendment was nearly as strong - 68 percent in favor compared with 26 percent against.

Support for the state amendment differed only by degree in different categories - for example, with more support in eastern Kentucky (82 percent) than Jefferson County (65 percent); among Republicans (84 percent) than Democrats (67 percent) and independents (52 percent); and among born-again or evangelical Christians (82 percent) than among others (59 percent).

One group in which a majority - 55 percent - opposed the amendment was a combined category including those with no religious belief and followers of religions with smaller numbers of followers in the state.

Eighty-two percent of people 50 and older supported the amendment, compared with 53 percent of adults under 35.

Those who said they knew someone who was gay or lesbian supported the amendment by a lower margin - 56 percent in favor - than those who did not - 83 percent in favor.

Percentages based on subsamples are subject to a higher potential margin of error.