Young Americans less open to LGBT issues, survey says

A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, shows young adults in the U.S. are now less accepting of LGBTQ people.

GLAAD’s 2019 Accelerating Acceptance Report asked 1,970 Americans over the age of 18, a series of questions with regard to their reactions to several different situations involving LGBT people.

Those situations were: learning a family member or their doctor is LGBTQ , having LGBTQ members at their place of worship, seeing a LGBT co-worker's wedding picture, having their child placed in a class with a LGBTQ teacher, seeing a same-sex couple holding hands, and knowing their child was learning LGBT history in school.

According to the survey, nationwide, the support for “equal rights for the LGBT community remained stable at 80%”, and non-LGBT adults who felt “very” or “somewhat” comfortable in those situations continued the same as 2018, at 49%.

However, for the group aged 18 to 34, those who felt comfortable in all seven scenarios fell from 53% to 45%, the only age group to show a decline. It’s the second year in a row that the number has dropped.

A survey shows young adults in the U.S. are now less accepting of LGBTQ people. / GLAAD.

“NOTABLE EROSION OF ACCEPTANCE FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY”

“While young people are identifying as LGBT in higher rates than ever before, there has also been an uptick in non-LGBT young people pushing back against acceptance”, Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, wrote in the report.

Although “the younger generation has traditionally been thought of as a beacon of progressive values”, “the erosion in LGBTQ acceptance among younger people is seen in both male and female respondents, particularly in personal scenarios”, the survey said.

“We typically see in our surveys that younger Americans can be counted on to advocate for issues like gender equality, immigration and climate change”, John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, pointed out in a statement.

That is why “it is surprising to see a notable erosion of acceptance for the LTBTQ community, which counters many of the assumptions we make about their values and beliefs”, he added.