Majority favor openly gays in military

-- Nearly 75 percent of Americans say they support openly gay individuals serving in the U.S. military, a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated.

Twenty-four percent said openly gay people should not serve in the military, poll results released Friday indicated.

Majorities favoring a more open policy spanned party lines, the poll found, with 82 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans saying they favored such a policy.

In his State of the Union last month, President Barack Obama called for a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring openly homosexual individuals from serving in the military. Civilian and military officials began conducting meetings this week to begin a year-long review of the policy enacted during President Bill Clinton's administration.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed men and seniors were less likely than women and young adults to favor gays serving in the military if they disclose their sexual orientation.

The nationwide telephone poll surveyed 1,004 adults Feb. 4-8. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.