[TotallyOz]

A new poll shows strong support for gay marriage in Mexico City, but a majority of residents remain opposed to gay adoption, the Mexico City-based Excelsior reported Thursday.

Lawmakers in Mexico's capital and largest city approved a gay marriage law over the objections of conservatives in December. The law, a first for Latin America, is expected to take effect in February. Previously, the city government recognized gay couples with civil unions but banned gay adoption.

The paper is reporting that two recent polls suggest there is strong support for gay marriage in the capital.

One survey conducted by the pollster BGC-Ulises Beltran found 46% of residents approve of gay marriage, 43% oppose it, while 11% were undecided. Narrower results were reported by the firm GEA-ISA, which found 47% of residents favor gay marriage and 46% oppose it; 7% did not know.

However, both polls agreed that there is little support for gay adoption among city residents. Only 19% of respondents in both polls favor granting gay and lesbian couples the right to adopt children.

The conservative PAN party, which has vowed to take the issue to the Supreme Court, sponsored both polls. Church leaders in the largely Catholic nation have also decried the law. Mexico's Roman Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Noberto Rivera Carrera, has called the law “immoral” and “reprehensible.”

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