WASHINGTON – A new poll recently released by the Human Rights Campaign in partnership with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research has found the vast majority of Americans support employment non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination. In perhaps the most compelling finding, support for employment protections spans an array of demographics including the majority of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Catholics, Protestants, weekly churchgoers, and even born again Christians, and across age and race. There is currently no federal non-discrimination law covering sexual orientation or gender identity and only limited state protections. Legislation to address this issue, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), is pending in Congress. HRC is working with allies on Capitol Hill to increase the number of cosponsors and build support to pass ENDA.
The poll found a vast majority (77 percent) of voters support protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment. The support for employment protections defies conventional political wisdom, reaching across party and ideological lines. Seventy percent of self-identified Republicans and 67 percent of conservatives support anti-discrimination laws. Support is strong even among groups who tend to be less supportive of LGBT issues, such as seniors (69 percent among voters over age 65), those with a high school degree or less (68 percent), observant Christians (77 percent), born-again Christians (74 percent), and residents of the Deep South (72 percent).
“We are at a cultural tipping point in the fight for LGBT equality,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Support for employment protections for LGBT workers is tipping the scale even further toward fairness for all people. What is most promising is that people of all political, religious, and ideological persuasions clearly support non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people.”
