Poll: Americans Divided on Transgender Bathrooms

I've been covering this issue in my classes, pointing out that the Democrats are deliberately inflaming the culture wars. Remember, Houstonians voted down the LGBT ballot measure 61 to 39 percent. And now the White House has forced the issue to the national level.

It's not about civil rights. It's about political and ideological power. And the country's going to be even more bitterly divided as a result.

At NYT, "Public Is Divided Over Transgender Bathroom Issue, Poll Shows":

Like I've Been Saying. Now There's Data: Public Is Divided Over #Transgender Bathrooms, Poll Shows. #Gender https://t.co/R2kOCunqyd

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) May 20, 2016

Wow. 6/10 Americans want state & local govts to decide transgender school bathroom policies, according to NYT poll. https://t.co/Gg7P8fA6ed

— Kelsey Harkness (@kelseyjharkness) May 20, 2016

The public is sharply divided along age, party and education lines over whether transgender people should be allowed to use public bathrooms that match their gender identity rather than their gender at birth, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

While less than a majority, 46 percent of Americans say they think that transgender people should be allowed to use only public restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth. A smaller number, 41 percent, think transgender people should be allowed to use the restroom that matches the gender they identify with.

Democrats, college graduates and those under the age of 45 are more supportive of allowing for gender identity in bathroom choice, while their counterparts take the opposite stance.

The nationwide poll was conducted after President Obama issued a directive to public schools last week outlining ways to avoid discrimination against transgender students. The Obama administration contends that the issue is a federal civil rights question, while some states, such as North Carolina, say it is an issue for individual states to decide.

Nearly six in 10 Americans say they think decisions about which bathroom transgender students can use in public schools should be left to individual state or local governments to decide. While a slim 51 percent majority of Democrats think it is a federal issue, more than three-quarters of Republicans say the matter should be decided at the state or local level.

While the public narrowly disagrees with Mr. Obama’s stance on transgender rights and the restroom policy, his overall job approval rating, at 50 percent, is at its highest level in more than three years. His approval rating briefly rose after his re-election in November 2012.

More.

Also, a summary of the data, at Newsmax:

* 46 percent believe transgender people should be allowed to use bathrooms based on their birth gender;

* 41 percent believe transgender people should be allowed to use bathrooms based on their gender identity.

CBS News reports breaking down the results by party lines and political beliefs, the poll finds:

* 65 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of conservatives believe transgender people should use bathrooms based on their birth gender;

* 60 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of liberals believe transgender people should use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Another question in the poll addressed whether federal government or state and local governments should be in charge of the bathroom issue:

* 57 percent believe state and local governments should decide;

* 35 percent believe the federal government should decide.

By party lines, according to the CBS News report:

* 77 percent of Republicans believe the decision should be left to state and local governments;

* 42 percent of Democrats believe state and local governments should decide;

* 57 percent of independent voters believe state and local governments should decide.

Fifty-one percent of Democrats favor the federal government deciding, while 31 percent of independent voters believe it should be up to the federal government. Comparatively, only 18 percent of Republicans favor the federal government weighing in on bathroom choice.