A new survey
commissioned by Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
suggests that majorities of Americans favor a broad range of
policies and legal protections for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people.
The Pulse of
Equality survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows that
majorities of Americans favor legal relationship recognition
for gay and lesbian couples, gay- and
transgender-inclusive hate-crimes laws and
nondiscrimination laws, and allowing gay troops to serve
openly in the armed forces, while a majority
opposes laws that would ban adoption by qualified gay
and lesbian couples.
*Three
quarters of U.S. adults (75%) favor either marriage or
domestic partnerships/civil unions for gay and lesbian
couples. Only about two in 10 (22%) say gay and
lesbian couples should have no legal recognition. (Gay
and lesbian couples are able to marry in two states, and
comprehensive civil union or domestic-partnership laws exist
in only five others and the District of Columbia.)
*U.S.
adults are now about evenly divided on whether they support
allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry (47% favor
to 49% oppose).
*Almost
two thirds (64%) of U.S. adults favor allowing openly gay
personnel to serve in the armed forces. (The current "don't
ask, don't tell" law bans military service by openly
gay personnel.)
*About six
in 10 (63%) U.S. adults favor expanding hate-crimes laws to
cover gay and transgender people. (Hate-crimes laws cover
gay and transgender people in 11 states and the
District of Columbia, and an additional 20 states'
laws cover sexual orientation but not gender
identity.)
*A slight
majority of U.S. adults (51%) favor protecting gay and
transgender people under existing laws that prohibit
discrimination in employment, housing, and public
accommodations. (Existing nondiscrimination laws cover
gay and transgender people in only 12 states and the
District of Columbia, and eight other states' laws cover
sexual orientation but not gender identity.)
*Nearly
seven out of 10 U.S. adults (69%) oppose laws that would ban
qualified gay and lesbian couples from adopting children.
(In several states, gay and lesbian couples are banned
from adopting.)
The poll surveyed
2,008 U.S. adults ages 18 and older by telephone and
was conducted November 13-17.
"In the Pulse of
Equality survey, we observed a positive relationship
between knowing a gay or transgender person and one's
attitudes toward them and the policy issues that
affect their lives," said Laura Light, vice president
of public relations research for Harris Interactive.
"Based on other surveys we have conducted on attitudes
toward LGBT people and issues, the results of this survey
suggest that public sentiment in the U.S. is trending
toward greater acceptance of gay- and
transgender-related policy issues."
Across the
LGBT-related policy proposals, there were statistically
significant differences in support with respect to age,
gender, race/ethnicity, and religion. People under 65,
and especially those 18-34, were more supportive than
people over 65. Women were generally more supportive
than men, with women age 18-34 often being more
supportive than other segments. Hispanics showed stronger
support than whites and African-Americans for allowing
openly gay personnel to serve in the armed forces.
African-Americans were more strongly supportive than
whites and Hispanics of expanding existing hate-crimes
laws to cover gay and transgender people. Mainline
Christians (a category that includes, among other
denominations, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians,
and Episcopalians) and Catholics were more supportive
than evangelical Christians, and mainline Christians were
often among the more supportive segments on a variety of
issues.
The survey also
revealed that there has been greater acceptance of gay
and lesbian Americans over the last five years.
Approximately two in 10 Americans (19%) reported that
their feelings toward gay and lesbian people have
become more favorable over the past five years, with
contributing factors including: knowing someone who is gay
or lesbian (79%), the fact that laws have been passed
that protect gay and lesbian people (50%), opinions of
family or friends (45%) and religious leaders (21%),
news coverage of gay and lesbian issues (41%), and seeing
gay or lesbian characters on television (34%) and in
movies (29%). Nearly three out of four Americans (73%)
personally know or work with a gay or transgender
person, and half of those who know or work with someone who
is gay or transgender know five or more gay or transgender
people. (Advocate.com)
