The Ohio Senate debate was held Monday between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan. The candidates debated several issues, including illegal immigration and abortion. Ohio, which is typically a swing state, has become “increasingly Republican” in recent elections, The New York Times noted. A poll released this week shows where Ohio voters stand on transgender issues.
A survey by SurveyUSA and Baldwin Wallace University found that a majority of 856 Ohio voters oppose allowing transgender people to play sports and employ bathrooms that match their gender identity, rather than their biological sex. A majority of voters also oppose allowing medical personnel to provide “gender-affirming” care to minors (via Cleveland.com):
Of those surveyed, 51% said they were “strongly opposed” to allowing medical personnel to care for minors in the area of gender reassignment, while 15% said they were “somewhat opposed.” Only 9% said they were strongly in favor of allowing minors to medically reassign their gender, while 16% said they were somewhat in favor.
Political moderates opposed juvenile passage on 44 points, conservatives opposed it on 71 points, and liberals supported it on 18 points. Voters surveyed were weighted by gender, age, race, education, and homeownership to provide a representative cross-section of adults in the state.
Townhall described earlier this year how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) launched investigations into parents of transgender minors for possible child abuse. In a poll, 45 percent of Ohio voters said they supported such investigations. Forty-three percent said they opposed them.
Lauren Copeland, one of the researchers, said respondents gave conservative answers to questions about transgender issues.
“The transgender issue is relatively new, and I think it will take some time for public opinion on the issue to become more liberal,” Copeland said.
Survey respondents opposed allowing transgender athletes to play on teams corresponding to their gender identity by 39 percentage points, with 50% strongly opposed, 15% somewhat opposed, 14% somewhat supportive, and 12% strongly supportive of transgender athletes participating in sports teams.
Survey participants opposed allowing transgender people to employ public restrooms that correspond with their gender identity by 19 points. Forty-two percent said they strongly opposed it, 12% somewhat opposed it, 17% somewhat supported it, and 18% strongly supported it. Men surveyed reported levels of opposition that were more than twice as high as women.
In June, Townhall reported that a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that a majority of Americans — 55 percent — oppose allowing biological males who identify as female to compete in women’s sports at the college and professional levels. The poll came at a time when “the issue of whether transgender women should compete against cisgender women and girls has become a subject of social and political debate,” the poll’s description noted.
Another survey published by Pew Research found that 58 percent of Americans support requiring transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that match their biological sex. Additionally, 41 percent of respondents said they support requiring transgender people to employ public restrooms that match their biological sex, rather than their “gender identity.”
When it comes to teaching gender identity curriculum in schools, 46 percent of Ohio voters support teaching it to sixth- through 12th-grade students, while 48 percent oppose it. Respondents also support leading students in prayer on school grounds, whether by a peer (64 percent) or a coach (63 percent).
