US totally split on whether LGBTQ+ discrimination is a problem

US adults are totally split on whether they believe LGBTQ+ discrimination is a serious problem in the country, a new poll suggests.

A survey shared by YouGov earlier this week asked over 1,100 adult citizens in the North American country to give their opinion on the seriousness of key national problems, such as corruption, gin violence, climate change, drug abuse and many others.

Respondents were asked to label the seriousness of 33 political and societal issues based on four levels of severity from ‘not a problem’ to ‘a very serious problem’.

The majority of adults agreed that issues such as political division, corruption, homelessness, and inflation are among the biggest problems in the US today, while very few felt that issues such as public transportation, property crime, and COVID-19 were big problems.

However, respondents were nearly completely split between all four answers when asked about LGBTQ+ discrimination.

According to the poll, 23 per cent of US adults believe ‘LGBT discrimination’ is a very serious problem, 23 per cent say it is somewhat serious, 22 per cent say it is a minor problem, and 25 per cent say it isn’t a problem at all. Seven per cent said they weren’t sure.

Women are more likely to view LGBTQ+ discrimination as a problem, with 75 per cent of women saying it is an issue compared to just 60 per cent of men. Comparatively, 34 per cent of men say it is not an issue, while 16 per cent of women agreed.

Respondents aged 18-29 were the least likely to say LGBT discrimination isn’t an issue. However, respondents aged 65 and up were interestingly the most likely age group to say it is a problem at 70 percent – a single percentage higher than the 69 per cent of 45-64-year-olds who answered similarly.

Unsurprisingly, Republicans were by far the least likely to recognise LGBTQ+ discrimination as a legitimate issue at 42 per cent compared to a whopping 92 per cent of Democrats.

While public opinion seems to be widely contested according to the polls, LGBTQ+ rights remain under intense threat, particularly within statewide legislatures.

Since the beginning of 2026, anti-LGBTQ+ state lawmakers have proposed a staggering 420 bills targeting the community, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A whopping 616 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were proposed in 2025 alone.

According to Gallup, support for same-sex marriage has dipped slightly over the past few years, though it remains high, with 68 per cent of adults saying it is valid in May 2025.

The poll also suggests that a worrying 38 per cent of adults still believe sexuality is dependent on environmental factors. A quarter of Americans agree a person’s sexuality is something they are born with.

The number of LGBTQ+ adults in the US has also consistently risen since same-sex marriage was legalised in 2015, with around 9.3 of adults identifying with the LGBTQ+ label in some capacity.

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