US: Most Republicans would be upset if they had a gay child, poll finds
A majority of Republicans would be upset if they had a son or daughter who came out to them as gay.
A McClatchy-Marist poll asked 1035 participants: “If you had a child who told you he or she was gay or lesbian, would you be very upset, somewhat upset, not very upset, or not upset at all?”
23 percent of Republicans surveyed said they would be “very upset” if they had a gay child, while 37 said they’d be “upset” – a total of 60 percent opposed.
Just 25 percent of Republicans surveyed said they would not be upset at all if their child came out.
The figure stands in contrast to the average for the US population, 48 percent of whom would not be upset at all if their child were gay.
Democrats are also more likely to be tolerant, with 52 percent not upset at all, 16 percent upset and 12 percent very upset.
The results show a sharp change from a similar 1985 poll, when 89 percent of adults said they would be upset if their son or daughter came out.
The poll also found that those who identify as African-American or Latino are more accepting than white people.
53% of African-Americans and 56% of Latinos surveyed would not be upset at all to have a gay son or daughter, compared to 45% of whites.
