Harris Interactive | The Harris Poll - Attitudes to gays and lesbians have become more accepting, but most people still disapprove of single-sex marriages and adoption by same sex couples

THE HARRIS POLL #9, February 9, 2000

ATTITUDES TO GAYS AND LESBIANS HAVE BECOME MORE ACCEPTING, BUT MOST PEOPLE STILL DISAPPROVE OF SINGLE-SEX MARRIAGES AND ADOPTION BY SAME SEX COUPLES

Public split on whether sexual orientation can be changed.

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by Humphrey Taylor

The public has become more accepting of gays and lesbians; a 56% to 34%; a majority now favors legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians. However, most people are still opposed to single-sex marriages and to the adoption of children by same sex couples, although majorities who feel this way have declined.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,010 adults surveyed by telephone between January 6^th and 10^th, 2000.

The survey shows that the public is now split 46% to 44% as to whether sexual orientation can or cannot be changed through will power, therapy or religious conviction. Two years ago, in 1998, a 56% to 34% majority believed sexual orientation could be changed.

A 52% to 35% majority of the public still believes that sexual orientation is more dependent on learning and experience than on the genes one is born with, but this is down from a 65% to 29% majority who believed this in 1995.

Some of the key trends in this Harris Poll are:

The majority who favor it being illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians has increased from 52% to 41% in 1998 to 56% to 34% now.
Opposition to single-sex male marriages, while still very strong, is down from 63% to 11% in 1996 to 55% to 16% now.
Opposition to single-sex female marriages is down from 64% to 10% in 1996 to 55% to 16% now.
Opposition to adoption by female couples is also still strong but has declined from 61% to 16% in 1996 to 56% to 22% now.
Opposition to adoption by male couples has declined from 65% to 15% in 1996 to 57% to 21% now.

The proportion of people who say they know gays or lesbians has also increased. In 1998, a total of 37% of all adults replied that they had close friends or relatives who were gay or lesbian. Now fully 48% have close friends or relatives who are gay, with 41% saying they have close friends and 23% saying they have close relatives who are gay or lesbian. The increase, from 37% to 48%, presumably reflects a greater openness about sexual orientation.

The Big Picture

Overall, therefore, the public has become more accepting of gays and lesbians; all the trends are moving the same way. However, only relatively small minorities are ready to accept single-sex marriages or adoptions by same sex couples.

Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman of The Harris Poll.

TABLE 1

FAVOR/OPPOSE MAKING IT LEGAL TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS

Base: All Adults

"The current law makes it illegal to discriminate because of race, age, disability, religion and gender. Do you favor or oppose laws that make it illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians?"

	1998	2000
	%	%
Favor making it illegal	52	56
Oppose making it illegal	41	34
Don’t know	6	6
Refused	1	5

TABLE 2

APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF SINGLE-SEX MARRIAGES

"How do you feel about so-called single-sex marriages, between two men or two women? Specifically, would you say you approve or disapprove or don’t feel strongly about (READ LIST)?"

			Approve	Dis-approve	Don’t Feel Strongly	Don’t Know/Refused
Single-sex marriages between two women	1996	%	11	63	25	2
	2000	%	16	55	26	2
Single-sex marriages between two men	1996	%	10	64	24	2
	2000	%	15	57	24	4

TABLE 3

APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY SINGLE-SEX COUPLES

"What about adoption of children by two men or two women who live together as a couple, whether they are married or not. Do you approve or disapprove or don’t feel strongly about (READ LIST)?"

			Approve	Dis-approve	Don’t Feel Strongly	Don’t Know/ Refused
A female couple adopting a child	1996	%	16	61	21	2
	2000	%	22	55	19	5
A male couple adopting a child	1996	%	15	65	18	2
	2000	%	21	57	18	4

TABLE 4

IS SEXUAL ORIENTATION GENETIC OR LEARNED?

Base: All Adults

"Do you think that sexual orientation is more dependent on the genes you are born with or more from what you learn and experience as you grow up?"

	1995	2000
	%	%
Genes you are born with	29	35
What you learn and experience	65	52
Don’t know/Refused	6	14

TABLE 5

CAN SEXUAL ORIENTATION BE CHANGED?

Base: All Adults

"Do you believe that sexual orientation can be changed through will power, therapy or religious conviction or that it cannot be changed?"

	Total
	%
Can be changed	46
Cannot be changed	44
Don’t know/Refused	10

NOTE: Replies to a very similar question asked by Princeton Survey Associates in 1998 were "can be changed 56%, cannot be changed 34%, don’t know 10%."

TABLE 6

WHETHER PEOPLE HAVE CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS OR RELATIVES WHO ARE GAY OR LESBIAN

Base: All Adults

"Do you have any close personal friends who are gay or lesbian or not?"

"Do you have any close relatives who are gay or lesbian or not?"

	Total
	%
Yes, have close personal friends who are gay/lesbian	41
No, do not	58
Don’t know/Refused	1

	Total
	%
Yes, have close relatives who are gay/lesbian	23
No, do not	74
Don’t know/Refused	3

	1998 Total	2000 Total
	%	%
Total have close personal friends or relatives who are gay or lesbian	37	48

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between January 6^th and 10^th, 2000, among a nationwide cross section of 1010 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors, so the words "margin of error" should be avoided when reporting all survey data.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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