GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, announced the findings of its sixth annual Accelerating Acceptance Study, a national survey measuring American attitudes towards, and understanding of, LGBTQ people.
This year’s survey found that a vast majority of Americans, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, believe LGBTQ people are more federally protected than they actually are.
89 percent of non-LGBTQ respondents and 78 percent of LGBTQ respondents believe it is currently illegal to evict someone from housing because they’re LGBTQ, and 80 percent of non-LGBTQ and 65 percent of LGBTQ respondents believe it’s illegal to turn people away from a business because they are LGBTQ. 87 percent of non-LGBTQ and 75 percent of LGBTQ people believe it’s illegal to deny housing t someone because they’re LGBTQ, and 78 percent of non-LGBTQ and 70 percent of LGBTQ people believe it’s illegal to deny employment benefits to an employee’s same-sex partner.
Another 55 percent of non-LGBTQ and 53 percent of LGBTQ people believe it is currently illegal to ban physically qualified transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, and 59% of non-LGBTQ and 50% of LGBTQ respondents believe it is currently illegal to deny transgender people the right to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
While there are no comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people outlawing any of these actions, a majority of non-LGBTQ Americans believe there should be.
91 percent of non-LGBTQ respondents believe it should be illegal to evict someone from housing because they are LGBTQ; 90 percent believe it should be illegal to turn individuals away from a restaurant/other public place of business because they are LGBTQ; 89 percent believe it should be illegal to deny renting or selling housing to someone because they are LGBTQ; 86 percent believe it should be illegal to deny employment benefits (pension or health insurance coverage) to an employee’s same-sex partner; 73 percent believe it should be illegal to ban physically qualified transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, and 61 percent believe it should be illegal to deny transgender people the right to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
“The findings from this year’s Accelerating Acceptance Study highlight a dangerous reality: a significant majority of Americans, even within our own community, are not aware that LGBTQ people are not federally protected from discrimination in many areas of life,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Although we have witnessed landmark decisions for marriage equality and non-discrimination workplace protections in the last few years, the general public’s lack of understanding about the state of LGBTQ rights in America is largely due to the fact that our issues and lives are still being largely left out of the national conversation, especially during the 2020 election cycle when so much is at stake for LGBTQ people. With a large majority of Americans expressing that federal law should protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in areas of life in which they are currently not protected, it is more crucial than ever that we elect pro-equality candidates who will pass comprehensive legislation like the Equality Act and remove discriminatory measures imposed on LGBTQ people, like the transgender military ban.”
Learn about other findings by reading the entire report here.