New Study: Large Majority of Americans Support LGBT Nondiscrimination Laws, Oppose ‘Bathroom Bills’

Support for LGBT Rights and Religious Inclusion Has Expanded Drastically Over the Past Decade

A fascinating new study released Thursday shows Americans’ views toward same-sex marriage and LGBT non-discrimination laws have changed dramatically over the past five years. The study was conducted by PRRI, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization.

Some of the most interesting results from the study include the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage since 2003. Currently 62% of Americans favor legal same-sex marriage and only 30% say they’re opposed. In 2011 support was only at 47% and in 2003 only 32% of Americans were in favor of same-sex marriage. 

Religious voices have also become more comfortable with same-sex marriage; only 41% of Americans say same-sex marriage is against their religious beliefs as opposed to 62% in 2003. White evangelical Protestants, however, are still the group most likely to be against same-sex marriage. 71% say it goes against their religious beliefs (down from 84% in 2003).

When it comes to LGBT non-discrimination laws, a whopping 72% of Americans say they support laws that would protect LGBT people from being discriminated against in housing, jobs, and public accommodations. To break that down even further, 61% of Republicans support non-discrimination laws, along with 78% of Democrats.

In numbers that should make many state governments quiver, 53% of Americans oppose laws that require transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex assigned at birth instead of their lived gender while only 35% favor them. 

And in news that will concern the “religious liberty” crowd, 63% of Americans oppose allowing business owners to use religious beliefs as a reason for denying service to gay or lesbain people (only 30% are in favor.)

According to the study, even though religious institutions and places of worship are focusing less and less on homosexuality, the majority of Americans still believe religious institutions to be unfriendly places towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. 

Check out the full study here with even more fascinating facts and figures, including quite a bit on the presidential election.

 

Image by Corey Epps via Twitter