Survey: Three Out of Four College Freshman Support Gay Marriage

More than 71% of first-year college students support marriage rights for same-sex couples, according to a new study out of the University of California, Los Angeles's Higher Education Research Institute.

That number is up from two years ago, when 65% of college freshmen felt the same way.

"Among students entering college, we're seeing a more unified support for same-sex marriage that reaches across political party lines," said John H. Pryor, lead author of the report. "Given the influence of young voters in the last presidential election, candidates may want to pay careful attention to the student perspective on these and other civil rights issues."

Pryor added that presidential candidates may want to spend more time on college campuses, where students have a "different picture" of the issue.

More than 200,000 first-year students were surveyed from across the country.

See the survey results here.