Trans Athletes Supported by 73 Percent of Americans

According to a survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, an overwhelming majority supported full equality for LGBTQ people. With a total of more than 1,005 survey participants, 73 percent said that trans student-athletes should be permitted to compete in school sports programs that align with their gender identities.

“With respect to transgender youth participation in sports, the public’s strong inclination is on the side of fairness and equality for transgender student-athletes,” reads the HRC report.

The survey was taken by voters from across the political spectrum, including 89 percent of democrats, 79 percent of independents, and 56 percent of republicans. Respondents also showed overwhelming support for the Equality Act,  with seven in 10 voters saying they favor the act.

“In poll after poll, we see that Americans overwhelmingly believe that LGBTQ people should be able to live free from fear of harassment and discrimination by guaranteeing the same federal, anti-discrimination protections that other Americans have enjoyed for decades,” HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement.

These findings directly discount the recent Politico poll released earlier this month which found that 53 percent of its participants were in favor of new legislation in Mississippi banning trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. The HRC called the Politico poll a “snapshot rooted in right-wing public disinformation.”

Respondents to the HRC survey initially supported trans students by a very slim margin, 38 percent to 34 percent. Their opinions changed, however, when informed that “local schools, state athletic associations, and the NCAA have already implemented policies that ensure a level playing field for all students while also protecting transgender youth.”

This shift shows that when disinformation and fear are removed from the equation, respondents were more likely to support equity in sports. In addition, the HRC report shed light on perception versus reality, with 57 percent of voters under the impression that the LGBTQ community was already protected from discrimination under federal law.

The report also found that 50 percent of republicans and white, evangelical Christians support the Equality Act, making LGBTQ protections a bipartisan issue.