Three in four Americans favor some sort of legal recognition for gay couples although those polled are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage, a new survey shows.

Conducted in the wake of California voters narrowly approving Proposition 8, which overturned a state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the survey reveals the majority of Americans favor legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Among the report's findings:

Americans are evenly split on whether to allow gays and lesbians to marry — 47 percent favor same-sex marriage, 49 percent oppose it. Only 22 percent say gays and lesbians should have no legal recognition.

75 percent of U.S. adults favor marriage, domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex couples.

63 percent, or about six in 10, favor expanding hate crime laws to include LGBT people.

Nearly two-thirds support allowing openly gay and lesbian military personnel to serve in the armed forces.

69 percent, or nearly seven in 10 adults, oppose laws that would ban gays and lesbians from adopting children.

While the survey appears to contradict votes in four states on Nov. 4 that limited the rights of gays and lesbians to marry and adopt children, the findings are difficult to extrapolate on a local level, researchers said.

“While this expression of support is encouraging, particularly after the setbacks we experienced on Election Day, it's not something we can rest on; there is a lot of work to be done,” Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in a news release.

GLAAD, which commissioned the “Pulse of Equality” survey, is a nonprofit group that promotes positive representation of LGBT people in the media to reduce homophobia and discrimination.

While the survey's findings — timed to be conducted after voters weighed in on Proposition 8 — do not mirror pre-election opinion polls that showed the majority of Californians rejecting the gay marriage ban, it does suggest continued movement toward supporting marriage equality, researchers said.

Although 52 percent of California voters statewide approved the marriage ban, more than 61 percent voted for a similar ban in 2001.

“There are a number of thing in this survey that points to more positive feelings about issues that are important to the gay and lesbian community,” said David Krane, who as vice president of public affairs and policy with Harris Interactive in New York worked on the project.

Gay civil rights is an important issue to many in the Palm Springs area, which boasts one of the largest gay populations per capita in the United States and is renowned for its gay-friendly businesses and events. Passage of the gay marriage ban prompted hundreds in Palm Springs to take to the streets in protest.

What stood out for Terry Applegate, a local coordinator on the No on 8 campaign, was the finding that 79 percent of those questioned in the survey said what changed their mind about gay civil rights was knowing a gay or lesbian.

“The survey shows the importance of members of the LGBT community to be out as our neighbors and co-workers will realize that we have more in common with them and that we want the same rights,” she said.