Latest poll: Most lesbian and gay Americans don’t know their rights

The Washington Blade reports on the results of a recent poll conducted by City University of New York’s Hunter College. The poll asked if the U.S. Constitution bans same-sex marriage, whether gays can serve openly in the U.S. military, whether same-sex marriages were legal in the respondent’s state, and if there’s a federal law barring the firing of workers based on their sexual orientation.

Only 38 percent of poll respondents answered all four questions correctly.

Pat Egan, an assistant professor of politics at New York University helped write the analysis. The Blade says, “According to the analysis, 94 percent of respondents knew whether same-sex marriage was legal in their state, 78 percent knew the U.S. Constitution does not ban same-sex marriage, 82 percent knew they could not serve openly in the military and 59 percent knew there’s no federal law that bars workers from being fired based on their sexual orientation.

“Respondents 18-25 years old indicated that marriage and adoption rights were the top issues, while respondents 65 years and older noted laws regarding hate crimes and workplace discrimination were most important.”