Most American voters oppose transgender surgeries and lessons for children, but more than a third fear speaking up about the issue, according to a poll released Tuesday.
McLaughlin and Associates, which conducted the poll for the Christian evangelical Summit Ministries in Colorado, found that 90% of likely voters with an opinion on the issue believe gender-altering surgeries should be illegal for children.
The poll also found that 72% of voters do not believe schools “should teach about sexual identity and sexual behavior with elementary-age children,” compared to 28% who believe it’s an appropriate use of instructional time.
But 34% of voters said they stay silent about transgender politics “to not offend others.”
“Everywhere Americans look, the media and education culture is bombarding us with relentless, daily messages in support of transgenderism without limits. Despite this intensity, these stunning numbers show plainly that the vast majority of Americans aren’t buying what they’re being sold,” Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries, said in a statement.
The poll follows a Florida law that bans public schools from teaching sexuality and gender identity in K-3 classrooms as well as a Texas directive that defines gender-altering surgery for minors as “child abuse.”
According to the poll, 90% of voters think doctors who perform them be required by law to “disclose the common, long-term medical and psychological impact of such procedures.”
Additionally, 64% of voters do not believe “transgenderism is a healthy human condition” and 93% said they “believe it is possible to distinguish between men and women.”
McLaughlin and Associates surveyed 1,000 likely general election voters online on April 22-26. The national survey, correlated to actual voter turnout, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.
