With 40 state legislatures convened thus far in 2017, analysts report there are more than 30 measures introduced in 11 states that are intended to weaken or remove civil rights safeguards for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans.
In this polarized political climate, a majority of Americans state they oppose measures that erode civil rights for LGBT people:
Two-thirds (66%) of adults say they oppose laws allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBT persons because of their religious objections (and a similar proportion (68%) stated their opposition in a May 2016 Harris Poll.)
62% of adults oppose state laws that repeal or overturn local or city LGBT anti-discrimination laws and ban cities from passing similar protections in the future (which has ticked up slightly from the 60% of adults who thought so when asked in May 2016.)
Despite these majority views, Americans still face a slightly wider division on legislation to restrict access to bathrooms for transgender Americans by requiring individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex at birth, rather than their true gender identity. When asked about so-called “bathroom bills” in May 2016, 49% of all adults expressed support – however in January 2017, that support has reached 54% of Americans, with 46% of adults opposing these bills.
Nonetheless, over 6 in 10 Americans (63%) agree that all public buildings should be required to offer a single-user or gender non-specific bathroom. Americans slightly favor the federal government (39%) over state governments (36%) in deciding bathroom access, while 22% are not sure at all.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,192 U.S. adults ages 18+ surveyed online between January 9 and 11, 2017. Complete results of this study can be found here.
