Top Discrimination Targets: Gays

A plurality of the public (45%) believes that gays and lesbians face “a lot” of bias — roughly double the proportions that see widespread discrimination against blacks (18%) or Hispanics (23%), and three-to five-times the proportion that sees similarly high levels of prejudice directed at women, Asian Americans or whites. The latest Pew Research survey of racial attitudes finds that overall, nearly eight-in-ten (78%) adults say gays and lesbians face at least “some” discrimination. Even blacks see discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as more pervasive than racial bias against blacks. A majority of blacks (55%) say gays and lesbians face “a lot” of discrimination, 12 percentage points higher than the proportion who say African Americans often confront prejudice. Read More