Majority of Americans favor allowing openly-gay military service

A recent Gallup poll indicates that solid majorities of all key US demographics support allowing gay or lesbian servicemembers to serve openly . . . including a majority of conservatives.

During the past six months, as Congress began considering repeal of 1993′s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which outlawed gay and lesbian military service, certain conservative groups have increased their rhetoric. They claim that allowing gay and lesbian servicemembers to serve openly would damage unit cohesion, weaken the military, and even result in an increase of gay rape in the military. They also insist it is not what the American people want.

Earlier this month, Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council provided an analysis of sexual assault cases in the military, claiming that 8.2% of the cases were same-sex assault. He followed this with a claim that “homosexual activists” state that homosexuals and bisexuals make up less than 3% of the population, which Sprigg claims supports his contention that homosexuals are more prone to sexually assaulting others than heterosexuals.

We were unable to find a single “homosexual activist” organization claiming that homosexuals and bisexuals make up less than 3% of the population. Gallup, in 2002, pointed out that perception and definition are a factor, citing a broad range of survey responses indicating anywhere from 2-3% of men to 9% of men, and 2% to 5% of women, as being homosexual or bisexual, or as having “more than occasional homosexual experiences”. Thus, while Gallup is unable to determine with any precision the percentage of Americans with a non-heterosexual orientation, the Family Research Council claims it has . . . and that its number is lower than anything presented by Gallup.

Sprigg interprets his selected figures to mean that “homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are, relative to their numbers. We believe this problem would only increase if the current law against homosexuality were to be repealed.”

Sprigg insists that this will make recruitment and retention more difficult. Gallup’s polling data suggests otherwise.

Since Gallup began tracking the issue in late 2004, public support for allowing gay and lesbian servicemembers to serve openly in the military has always been positive, and has only grown. In 2004, 63% of Americans supported this position. This month’s poll indicates that 70% now support open service.

Most surprising is the shift in opinion among self-described conservatives and those who attend church regularly, given the ongoing statements from religious conservative leadership.

In 2004, 46% of conservatives and 52% of Republicans were in favor of open service. Today, 53% of self-described conservatives, and 60% of Republicans, are in favor of open service.

Even among those who attend church weekly, a solid 57% support open service. The less frequently respondents attend church, the more likely they are to support open service.

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For more information:

Gallup 2002. What percentage of the population is gay?

Gallup conducted a poll of over 1,000 US adults between May 3 and 6, 2010, using both landlines and cell phones.

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