New Report: Views on LGBTQ Rights in all 50 States
Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great week. My son had scarlet fever which was… an unexpected disease for him to get but now everyone in our home is feeling better.
This week, I want to focus a new study from PRRI, which runs the American Values Survey. This study of over 22,000 people across the United States explores political views, including views on LGBTQIA+ rights. Views on LGBTQ Rights in all 50 States, which I quickly mentioned in my newsletter last week, provides some interesting data that is useful for nonprofits. So let’s dig in!
One thing that is highlighted in this article is that LGBTQ Americans tend to skew younger; in other words, more younger people are identifying as LGBTQ. We can see in the figure below (the blue line is all Americans and the green line is LGBTQ Americans) the age differences. Specifically, this looks at the percentage of respondents of each age. For example, in this study, 19% of Americans are 18-29, but 44% of LGBTQ Americans are 18-29. We can see a high number of LGBTQ Americans, which represents the more complex understanding of identities in younger generations as well as people feeling more comfortable coming out. This may also be explained somewhat by the high number of gay men who died during the AIDS epidemic. This is consistent with other research coming out showing a more LGBTQ tilt in the younger generation.
Furthermore, many of the people who identify as LGBTQ identify as religiously unaffiliated (52% versus 27% of the general population). In the Christian traditions, we do see a lower number of LGBTQ people identifying as Protestant or Catholic compared to the larger population. Considering this difference, nonprofits who are connected to religious organizations may consider how that might impact involvement by LGBTQ individuals. Even if you provide services in a secular way, some LGBTQ people may not feel comfortable in a religious setting.
For policy, we see more shifts towards supporting LGBTQ rights. Most respondents (76%) supported nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, including 59% of Republicans. As seen below, this support is quite high across all states, including states like Florida (73%) and Texas (71%) where we have seen attacks on LGBTQ rights.
We do see a different trend with the question of whether small businesses should be able to refuse products or services to gay and lesbian people if that would violet their religious beliefs. This was a question that was part of the Supreme Court case from last year, 303 Creative v. Elenis. We do see a large percentage of people of are opposed to allowing small businesses to discriminate, though it is under 50% in states such as Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. This means that LGBTQ individuals may still be concerned with getting services from companies. This can be difficult in areas where there are not many options, and those options may refuse to provide services to LGBTQ people on the grounds of religious belief.
How can nonprofits use this information?
This report has a lot of interesting information about the state of the LGBTQ community and viewpoints of LGBTQ rights. While some states are trying to limit the rights of LGBTQ communities, it is encouraging to see how much support there is for LGBTQ individuals and communities. Understanding the LGBTQ community can help nonprofits, especially those who are not focused solely on LGBTQ issues, become a more welcoming environment.