Americans Agree: Gay Males Entitled to Same Opportunities as Straight Males

While the debate over gay marriage continues between the parties and in the Supreme Court at least through June, a recent VeraQuest study (and quite a bit of other research) shows that most Americans are already one step ahead. Nearly 2 in 3 Americans (64%) favor same-sex couples being able to wed in the same manner that opposite-sex couples do – which may explain the stampede of Senators who have newly acknowledged their support for gay marriage in recent weeks.

And, according to our latest VeraQuest omnibus research, that’s not the only place where Americans believe gay men/boys should have the same rights and privileges as straight men/boys. For example, the majority of Americans think it is unjust to ban gay men/boys from:

A few compelling points of note especially since we asked some questions about women’s rights in similar scenarios:

• The question of gender appears far less palatable than the question of sexual orientation in these traditionally male-dominated spheres. Our research has shown that Americans are much more comfortable including gay boys (as opposed to girls) in the Boy Scouts and on the football field.
• America seems slightly more inclusive in offering equal rights and freedoms to gay boys, but not quite as much to gay men in positions of authority and responsibility. A larger percentage of U.S. adults feel that gay boys should be able to serve as a Boy Scout (69%) compared to gay men as the Boy Scout troop leader (59%). And a somewhat larger percentage of U.S. adults feel comfortable with openly gay boys playing on a high school football team (76%) than they do with gay men coaching that same team (66%).
• Speaking of which, there are rumors that at least one well-known NFL player will publicly acknowledge his homosexuality in the near-term. If playing on a high school football team is any indication, the American public will stand strongly in his corner (76%). As mentioned, more than 3 in 4 U.S. adults feel that gay boys should be able to play openly on a high school football team. So if there is backlash, we expect it will come from a more niche group – the ardent fan, the homophobic teammate, or the media.
• Interestingly, more than the Boy Scouts, the football locker room, the Oval Office or the pre-school classroom, the Catholic church is the one place where the country is split on whether a ban regarding sexual orientation is acceptable or not. Only 51% of the public believes that a ban on openly gay priests is intolerable in the church.
• Age is an undeniable factor throughout this data set – the older you are, the more likely you are to accept a ban on gay men/boys in all of these various activities. So assuming that inclusion is the ethos of the younger cohorts, we would expect as they age and come into leadership positions, we will see greater acceptance across the board, regardless of sexual orientation.

Do you make a distinction between the church, the club, the classroom and the football field? Or do you feel like a ban is a ban – and should not be tolerated anywhere?