Majority of Americans support trans people in the military, study suggests
The majority of Americans support trans people serving in the military. (Canva)
A majority of Americans believe trans people should be allowed to serve in the armed services, new research has shown.
Gallup surveyed 1,001 adults last month, and published the results on Monday (February 10).
Although a slight fall from previous years, more than half the respondents (58 per cent) still said they openly support trans women and men serving in the military.
The most support came from Democrat voters, with 84 per cent backing the idea, while only 23 per cent of Republicans felt the same way, a fall from 43 per cent in 2019. Among Independents, backing fell from 78 per cent to 62 per cent during the same period.
The notable drop among Republicans comes as president Donald Trump moved to ban trans people from serving.
Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth signed the ban, which prevents those with a “history of gender dysphoria” from entering the armed forces, last week, according to a recently uncovered memo. The move is being challenged in the courts by six transgender service personnel, according to the Associated Press.
It comes after Trump signed an executive order laying the groundwork for reinstating a ban on trans people in the military after it was repealed by then president Joe Biden in 2021.
The Human Rights Campaign, which labelled the prospect of a ban “dangerous and discriminatory,” has reported that at least 15,000 active-duty personnel are transgender or non-binary. Officials put the numbers in the low thousands, according to The Guardian.
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