SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Half of California voters remain opposed to gay marriages, but more than seven in 10 support domestic partnership laws granting same-sex couples legal recognition and rights, according to a Field Poll released Aug. 29.

Republicans and voters who identified themselves as conservative were more than twice as likely as Democrats and self-described liberals to disapprove of gay marriage, a finding that poll director Mark DiCamillo called “striking.”

“Even though majorities of Democrats and nonpartisans and moderates, who really show you which way the wind blows, are on the side of allowing same-sex marriage, the overwhelming majority of Republicans who are opposed pulls it over to the other side,” DiCamillo said.

At the same time, the share of survey respondents who think gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry — 42 percent — is higher than at any time since Field first asked the question in 1977, a trend DiCamillo predicts will continue as younger voters replace older ones.

Seventy-five percent of voters age 65 and up opposed gay marriage, compared to 46 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 39.

California voters were just as divided on the morality of gay sex and whether gay leaders are advancing their civil rights agenda too quickly. A plurality of 45 percent said sex between consenting same-sex adults is “not at all wrong,” while 36 percent described them as “always wrong.”

Another 40 percent said gay rights leaders are moving too fast, while 44 percent found the pace of change to be about right.

There was less of a dichotomy on the subject of domestic partners and their legal rights, with 72 percent saying gay couples living in committed relationships should enjoy family rights such as hospital visitation and medical powers of attorney. Another 61 percent favored expanding those rights to include financial benefits such as pensions and insurance coverage.

On Aug. 28, the state Senate approved a sweeping bill that would make California second only to Vermont in the rights afforded to gay and lesbian couples.

The bill, which Gov. Gray Davis said he would sign, lets registered domestic partners ask for child support and alimony and gives them health coverage under a partner’s plan and the ability to make funeral arrangements for a partner.

The poll of 629 registered voters was conducted Aug. 10-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.