Poll: GOP OK With Gay Candidate, Not OK With Gay Children

A new poll found that the Republican Party would be fine with voting for an openly gay candidate but that most would have an issue with one of their family members coming out as gay, the Washington Post reports.

According to a McClatchy-Marist poll, 68 percent of the GOP say they would support an openly gay well-qualified candidate. But 59 percent say they want states to decide on same-sex marriage bans and not the federal government, which would allow gay marriage to be legalized across the United States.

The poll also found that 63 percent of Republicans are against same-sex couples tying the knot, while the majority is worried the issues will impact their family - six in 10 said they would be upset if one of their children came out as gay while 37 percent said they would be upset if their child told them that he or she was gay and 23 percent said they would be "very upset." One-quarter of the GOP said they would not be upset at all.

This means, two-thirds of the Republican Party say they would back a gay candidate if it was in line with their policy, but 60 percent would be upset if they found out their child was gay.

The Washington Post points out the study also found that three in 10 Democrats and independents said they would also be upset if their kid was gay. The newspaper also notes that a 1985 poll for the Los Angeles Times showed 89 percent of Americans said they would be upset if their child was gay. Sixty-four percent said they would be "very upset." In 2014, just 35 percent of Americans said they would be upset and 12 percent "very upset."

"The GOP's feelings on this, as with most GLBT issues, have evolved more slowly than others,'" the Washington Post writes. "That's especially true when it comes to their families -- and that is going to prevent the party and its leaders from moving faster toward embracing same-sex marriage."