Poll: 90% of gay Americans say discrimination is a serious problem but life is getting better
A Gallup poll for USA Today has found that roughly the same number of LGBT Americans believe that homophobic discrimination remains a serious problem, and that people have none-the-less become more accepting in recent years.
Nine of ten gay men and lesbians say discrimination against homosexuals remains a serious problem. Nearly two-thirds of all Americans agree.
Even so, 91% of gays and lesbian say that the wider population has become more accepting of lesbian and gay people in recent years.
A clear majority said that “it is not too difficult” or “not difficult at all” to live as openly gay or lesbian in American society.
“I think there are huge changes” in attitudes Meghan Mitchell, a 19-year-old college student from Orlando told researchers. “My grandparents, they didn’t know what gay and lesbian really meant; they thought it was bad.” She said that once they knew openly gay family members or friends “all of a sudden it wasn’t such a scary thing any more.”
77% of gay Americans predicted that divisions over sexual orientation will one day become history.
“The younger kids don’t even see it as an issue,” Gwen Kesterson a 63-year-old retiree told USA Today. “It seems like society will get over it.”
