A Gallup poll released Thursday found a
slim majority of Americans support the Equality Act.
The Equality Act is a federal bill
which seeks to add protections against discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity to existing civil rights laws.
The bill cleared
the House last month and President
Donald Trump has signaled his opposition to passage.
When Gallup asked, “Do you think new
civil rights laws are needed to reduce discrimination against
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people, or not?” 53 percent
of respondents answered yes, while 46 percent answered no.
In 2017, 51 percent of respondents
answered yes, while 46 percent answered no.
In both years, 27 percent of
Republicans were supportive of such laws. Support among Democrats has
increased from 67 percent in 2017 to 74 percent today.
A near-universal majority (93%) of
respondents support equal employment opportunities for people who
identify as LGBT.
Pollsters also found that a majority
(55%) of Americans believe gay or lesbian relations are accepted by
the public.
Gallup
noted: “If most Americans now believe that gay relations are
viewed as acceptable by the public, they may perhaps also believe
that laws to ensure their fair treatment are not needed.”