More registered voters in the United States support Florida's Parental Rights In Education Act as compared to the great opposition to it that mainstream media portrays, a poll reveals.
The Christian Headlines reported that 31-year-old research firm Public Opinion Strategies released the results of a national survey they conducted from March 25 to 28 involving 1,000 registered voters. The survey was conducted through online interviews and allowed a credibility interval of more or less 3.53% points.
As per the Memorandum released by Public Opinion Strategies, one of the four key findings of the survey showed that 61% support and only 26% oppose the Parental Rights In Education law, which was signed last week by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The law was incorrectly framed by mainstream media as the "Don't Say Gay" bill since it prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation and gender in schools from Kindergarten to Grade Three.
"When Americans are presented with the actual language of the new Florida law, it wins support by more than a two‐to‐one margin. Voters across partisan lines strongly support the new Florida law after being provided with the actual language of the bill: 'Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in Kindergarten through third grade or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,'" the study said.
A breakdown of the responses showed that Republicans and Trump 2020 Voters were more likely to support the law at 70% than Democrats and Biden 2020 Voters, which respectively recorded 55% and 53% of responses. Only 23% of Republicans and of Trump 2020 Voters oppose the law. While 29% of Democrats and 30% of Biden 2020 Voters oppose the law. A majority of Independent voters also support the law at 58% and only 26% oppose it.
In terms of location, 60% of Suburban Voters support the law and 30% oppose it. The same trend is seen among parents where 67% support the law and a mere 24% oppose it. It is interesting to note that of those who say they know someone who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, 61% support the law and 28% do not.
Another key finding of the study showed that a majority or two-thirds of voters "believe it is inappropriate for teachers or school personnel to discuss gender identity with children in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade." This translates to 67% of Americans as against a 21% margin who say discussions on gender identity are inappropriate for children belonging to the said grade levels. This includes 88% Republicans, 47% Democrats, and 68% Independent voters.
Moving beyond the classroom, the Public Opinion Strategies national poll also checked voters' opinions on gender removal from birth certificates and on transgenders joining sports teams according to their gender at birth. The study highlighted that "fewer than 10% of Americans want to see gender removed from birth certificates."
Only 8% of American voters believe gender should be removed by states in birth certificates but 79% of voters detest such an action. Of those who oppose the action, 67% are Democrats, 79% are Independent voters, and 93% are Republicans.
In terms of sports, there is a two-to-one or 60%-24% margin of "Americans (who) believe transgender athletes should play on sports teams that match their birth gender." This includes 85% of Republicans and 60% of Independent voters. Whereas 39%-36% of Democratic voters are uncertain about their stand on the issue.
Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis took to Twitter on the day of the law's signing to thank her husband about it. She said the law empowers parents like her in protecting their children from classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity without their knowledge. The first lady cited a "heart-wrenching reason" involving her daughter in school. Accordingly, the child's school held a meeting with students behind closed doors on a transgender non-conforming support plan without parental consent, which is in violation of state law on parental rights.
