The new poll carried out by Norstat for the newspaper Vårt Land found that 58 percent of those surveyed said they supported the new Marriage Act, and 31 percent were against it. The remainder either were uncertain or had no opinion.

"We in the LLH (The Norwegian National Association of Lesbian and Gay Liberation) are very happy that such a large majority of the population wish to put an end to the discrimination of homosexuals and our children," said LLH leader Jon Reidar Øyan.

Left-wing voters of the Socialist Left (SV) and Red parties were particularly supportive, with over 90 percent saying they favored the new Act, which gives equal rights to gay and heterosexual married couples.

The Act gets solid majority backing from Labour and Liberal Party voters as well, just over 50 percent support from Conservative Party voters, and 50 percent of populist Progress Party voters say no.

Christian Democrat Party voters stand out with about 90 percent opposition to the new law proposal.

The new Marriage Act will receive its parliamentary hearing on June 11.