Public Opinion Surveys on LGBT Issues

Recent polls show that Latino communities may be more accepting of gay equality than previously thought.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) contracted Social Science Research Solutions to conduct a poll according to Janell Ross in a report for the Huffington Post. “LGBT Acceptance and Support: The Hispanic Perspective” was released in April of this year and shows that 54% of the 1001Latino participants surveyed support gay marriage.

A survey of Christian Latinos produced results that contradict the common misconception that the majority of Christian Latinos are against homosexuality.

The LGBT group Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and The Gay &Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) contracted a public opinion research firm that specializes in Latino issues, Bendixen and Amandi, to conduct a poll that interviewed Latinos with Christian beliefs according to a report by Maria Cordova, a CNN contributor. It found that of those surveyed 68% said that being gay is morally acceptable and 79% said that it was ok to support gay rights and still be a good catholic.

The polls have been conducted in part for the NCLR Conference in Las Vegas this year.

The organization prepared a new public education campaign “Familia es Familia” that is aimed at building support for gay acceptance of LGBT family members. The campaign provides all 21 organizations at the conference training, technical assistance and support in hopes of educating the public using social media.

As is the campaign’s intended purpose these polls could easily open discussion about sexuality in families who are Latino and or go to church. They clear up the misconceptions that young Latinos may have about there own catholic families about not being accepting of homosexuality and in a larger sense about Latino communities in general not being accepting of homosexuality.