US: Family Research Council accidentally cites poll proving people are in favour of gay rights

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

The Family Research Council has accidentally cited a poll which found people were overwhelmingly in favour of workplace discrimination laws, while trying to argue against them.

In a blog post, the anti-gay group claimed: “No wonder the President had to resort to an executive order on special treatment for homosexuals. Turns out, the American people aren’t nearly supportive of his agenda as the media led us to believe.

“In a Huffington Post poll, only 50% of Americans support an ENDA-type (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) law, which gives preference to homosexuals and transgenders in the workplace.

“So much for the groundswell of support for measures that crush the constitutional freedoms of both employers and employees. Most people apparently think the current anti-discrimination statutes are strong enough.”

However, the cited poll proved the exact opposite.

The YouGov/HuffPo poll, conducted earlier this week, found that 76% of people thought it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay, compared to 12% who said it could be legal.

It also found that 62% of people thought it was illegal to fire someone for being gay already – before the passage of Obama’s executive order – with just 14% correctly realising it is not.

While 50% of people supported a law prohibiting job discrimination by employers, this was far higher than the 38% that opposed it, and support rose to 69% among people aged 30-44.

(h/t Good As You)