There was an interesting study recently conducted in the Lone Star State.

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Texas Lyceum found many familiar answers, including Texans’ identification of immigration as the most important issue facing the state and strong support for children playing football.

But the poll also showed that in a state led by Republicans who oppose gay marriage, 49 percent of Texans support allowing same-sex couples the right to marry legally, as provided by this summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That is up from 25 percent in 2009.

To no one’s surprise, gay marriage is more divided between the major parties, with 69 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of Republicans showing support for it. Still, the issue is not as black and white as it seems.

The poll also found that 46 percent of Texans support legalizing the use of marijuana, up by 13 percentage points since 2011. Of those who oppose legalization, 57 percent support decriminalization.

Those kind of numbers don’t make Texas a blue state, but it also doesn’t’ make it as red as some people might think. So why do conservatives hold such sway? Two words: voter turnout.

Only 28.5 percent of Texans eligible to vote did so in the 2014 November elections, the second lowest percentage in the country behind Indiana. 32.1 percent voted in 2010, the last time Texas voted for a governor.

There are many reasons why people in Texas don’t vote. Some Democrats blame the new voter ID law. Another thought is that the when one party dominates, there is no real driving need to vote and there is the issue of carving up voting districts by gerrymandering.

Whatever the reason is, I just wish politicians would stop saying “the people of Texas have spoken”. Only the people who bothered to vote spoke. Good for them; shame on the rest.

The poll surveyed 1,000 adult Texans Sept. 8-21. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.