Support for a California marriage amendment has waned over the past two months partly because of a change in the wording of the ballot initiative, a recent field poll suggests.

Proposition 8 -- a constitutional amendment that protects marriage as between a man and a woman -- originally read "Limit on Marriage. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Despite objections from those who wrote the proposal, state Attorney General Jerry Brown modified the text shortly after California's Supreme Court ruled on same-sex marriage.

The amended ballot summary now states: "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Changes California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

As a result of the word change, the amendment now has less support than it did in July, according to Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo.

Only 35 percent of likely voters surveyed said they would support Prop. 8 compared to 42 percent who said they supported the measure in a July poll.

Meanwhile, 55 percent of those polled opposed the ballot initiative - which would effectively ban gay "marriages" in the state - up from 51 percent.

According to DiCamillo, those few word changes made the difference. DiCamillo noted that the modified ballot summary impacted those who weren't as familiar with Proposition 8 more than it did voters who already knew about the measure.

Source: The Christian Post