Poll Finds Most Americans Support Transgender Military Service

Most Americans believe transgender people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, according to a new poll. The findings come after President Donald Trump decided to bar transgender people from military service.

A Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday found that 68% of American voters think that transgender people should be allowed to serve. That’s including 55% of voters in military households who support transgender service, according to the poll.

By contrast, 27% of American voters believe transgender people should not be allowed to serve in the armed forces.

The poll found that 60% of Republicans said they oppose transgender service. Every other polling segment, including party affiliation, gender, education, age group and racial group, said they supported transgender service by margins of 22% points or higher, the Quinnipiac University poll found.

What’s more, 89% of American voters said it should be illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on their sexual orientation.

Just under half (46%) of Americans believe that more acceptance of transgender people would be “a good thing for the country,” according to the poll, while 14% say it would be “a bad thing.” About 39% of respondents said it wouldn’t make a difference.