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Should high school athletes be required to only compete with others of the same sex that they were assigned at birth?
- Yes
- No
- Unsure
Strong bipartisan majorities support safeguarding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and enhancing protections for the LGBTQ community, a Siena College poll released Monday, April 22, showed.
Specifically, 80 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of Republicans, and 72 percent of independents favored safeguarding access to IVF for all Americans, the poll found.
When it comes to boosting protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, Democrats were in favor by a margin of 80 to 14 percent and Republicans by a margin of 46 to 40 percent.
Most notably, majorities in both parties favored requiring high school athletes to only compete with others of the same sex that they were assigned at birth; Democrats by 52 to 38 percent, Republicans by 83 to 15 percent, and independents by 77 to 16 percent.
The issue of transgender athletes competing in sports put New York in the national spotlight in February, when Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports at local facilities.
Blakeman’s order – which sparked condemnation and a cease-and-desist letter from New York Attorney General Letitia James – applies only to female competitive sports, not co-ed or male sports. It prevents transgender women from participating in women’s sports at all county-run facilities.
In a social media post, Blakeman defended his transgender athlete ban, saying it “stops the bullying of women and girls by transgender males who have many outlets to compete without putting the safety and security of females in danger.”
"In Nassau we will continue to fight for females’ right to be safe, secure, and have a level playing field to compete,” he said.
Monday’s poll also touched on several legislative and Congressional proposals that clearly divide the left and right.
Asked about allowing parent groups to override educators’ decisions on what books should be available to students, 69 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents were in favor, while 62 percent of Democrats were opposed.
Providing some type of reparations to the descendants of enslaved African Americans had support from 64 percent of Democrats, while just 18 percent of Republicans and 36 percent of independents were in favor, the poll found.
A majority of Democrats (64 percent) and a plurality of independents (47 percent) opposed a national abortion ban after 15 weeks, except when the mother’s life is threatened. A majority of Republicans (61 percent) backed the proposal.
The Siena College poll was conducted between Monday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 17 among 806 registered New York voters.
Click here to view the complete poll results.
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