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RALEIGH (AP) — About half of North Carolina adults oppose a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage, according to a poll released Monday that suggests state voters may be unwilling to follow their Southern peers in approving such a ban.

The Elon University poll found that 50.4 percent of respondents oppose or strongly oppose such an amendment while more than 43 percent of those in the survey said they would support or strongly support it. The remainder refused to answer the question or said they didn't know.

Hunter Bacot, Elon's poll director, said the numbers surprisingly mirror national surveys, indicating North Carolina may be more moderate than expected on the issue. About 30 states nationwide have added that prohibition to the state constitution, including California, which approved an amendment in a heated campaign last year.

"I didn't think we'd get over 50 percent," Bacot said. "In North Carolina, we are a Southern state and are generally a bit more conservative, particularly on these types of issues."

In recent years, voters in every Southern state except North Carolina have approved state constitutional amendments restricting marriage to between one man and one woman. Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina have prevented the issue from coming up for a vote, pointing to a state law that already prohibits gay marriage.

Tami Fitzgerald, an attorney with the conservative North Carolina Family Policy Council, said she disputed the methodology of the poll, noting that it surveyed all adults and not likely voters.

And she said the poll's question, which asked if the person would vote to "prevent any same-sex marriages," carried a negative tone that may have skewed the results.

"Phrasing it in a negative way probably elicited a stronger response in the negative," she said. Fitzgerald suggested asking if the person would approve an amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

While the Elon poll respondents opposed the amendment, most didn't support allowing the same-sex marriages. Only 21 percent of respondents said they support full marriage rights for same-sex couples. About 28 percent said they would support civil unions or partnerships but not marriage.

About 44 percent of respondents said they oppose any legal recognition for same-sex couples.

Bacot said some respondents appear to be struggling to weigh a number of competing issues — views on religion, civil liberties and the role of government. He said that's why some are deciding that while they don't want to deny benefits with an amendment, they also don't want to encourage same-sex marriage.

"They don't mind homosexuals and homosexual activity — as long as it doesn't affect them," Bacot said.

The Elon poll surveyed 620 North Carolina residents from March 15 to March 19. It reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Two bills filed in North Carolina this year pushing a constitutional amendment have been languishing in committees.

Proponents of the amendment say it would provide stronger protection of traditional marriage than the law, which states that a valid marriage is one "created by the consent of a male and female person."