Local marriage-equality leaders presented findings from a recently released study, sponsored by Marriage Equality USA and the Courage Campaign, showing that California voters are more likely to overturn Proposition 8, the state ban against same-sex marriage, in 2012 than 2010, at a town hall forum at The San Diego LGBT Community Center, last week.

“There are a lot of questions in the community – not only when to take the repeal of Proposition 8 to California voters but also how, and this polling data helps answer those questions,” said Human Rights Campaign San Diego Chapter Political Co-Chair Joel Trambley, during the Get Engaged! Town Hall. “This polling data is also critical to planning an effective strategy for the repeal of Proposition 8.”

Goodwin Simon Victoria Research and David Binder Research, which conducted the research between May 9 and 12, 2009, sampled 1,794 California voters likely to vote in November 2012 with a base or main sample of 1008 voters and an oversample of 786 voters including 152 Latinos, 255 African Americans and 274 Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Researchers often use oversamples to obtain additional members of a subpopulation, when the original or base sample does not acquire sufficient of such to calculate actual representation among the general population.

“We did oversampling to get more groups, including people of color” said Trambley.

The organizers could not provide any more information on how the study was conducted, citing a need to keep methodology confidential so it would not help those fighting against same-sex marriage.

Forty-six percent of voters who know someone who is GLBT support marriage equality, versus only 23 percent of voters who do not know someone who is GLBT, the study found.

“So if you haven’t come out to someone please do,” said Marriage Equality USA San Diego chapter leader Fernando Lopez.