Half of voters back discrimination ban

Fifty percent of Maryland voters support a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, while 36 percent oppose the law and 14 percent are undecided, according to a poll released yesterday.

The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research found that women are more likely than men to favor the law, which was approved this year by the General Assembly. The firm surveyed 625 likely voters by telephone between Friday and Monday. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Officials announced last week that opponents of the law had collected enough signatures for a statewide referendum next year. "This referendum still has the potential to evolve into a very close vote," said J. Bradford Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon.