As House considers Equality Act, more Americans than ever identify as LGBT, poll finds

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote on the Equality Act, a LGBT civil rights bill, a new poll finds more Americans than ever now identify as LGBT.

The House is set to vote Wednesday on the legislation, which would amend the Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill was reintroduced in the House last week by Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, and was also spearheaded by Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat.

The Equality Act passed in the House in 2019 but never received a vote in the the Senate, which was controlled by the Republican majority at the time. The bill would explicitly enshrine nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Americans and expand protections in the Civil Rights Act to federally funded programs and public accommodations, including stadiums and retail stores.

The legislation also circumvents the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which “ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected.” Businesses wouldn’t be able to use the RFRA to challenge provisions in the Equality Act.

Rising LGBT numbers

Gallup released a survey on Wednesday that found more Americans than ever identify as LGBT. The poll was conducted in 2020 based on a sample size of 15,349 U.S. adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Gallup found that 5.6% of American adults surveyed identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, which is up from 4.5% in Gallup’s 2017 poll. The figure is also the highest since Gallup began tracking how many Americans identify as LGBT in 2012.

For Americans in Generation Z, or those born 1997-2002, 15.9% of respondents identify as LGBT compared to 9.1% of Millennials, 3.8% of Generation X and 2% of Baby Boomers, Gallup found.

Overall, Gallup found that Americans increasingly support LGBT rights. In 2019, 93% of respondents in a Gallup poll said gay people “should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities,” compared to 56% of Americans who said the same in 1977 when Gallup first began polling people about LGBT issues.

Eighty-three percent of respondents also said in 2019 that relations between consenting gay or lesbian adults should be legal while just 43% said the same in 1977. In 2019, 75% of Americans said gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt children while 14% in 1977 said the same.

Future of Equality Act

President Joe Biden has said that he supports the Equality Act.

“I urge Congress to swiftly pass this historic legislation,” Biden said on Friday. “Every person should be treated with dignity and respect, and this bill represents a critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality and freedom for all.”

But the legislation has faced fierce opposition from Republicans.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a Minnesota Republican, said on the House floor Tuesday: “The reality of this bill is anything but equal. It is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to force unreasonable mandates on our institutions and restrict the liberties of the American people,” according to Newsweek.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 9:43 AM with the headline "As House considers Equality Act, more Americans than ever identify as LGBT, poll finds."