A majority of U.S. Hispanics say gay
men and lesbians should be accepted by society, a new study has
found.
The poll by the Pew
Hispanic Center found acceptance for gay rights among Latinos to
be similar to the general public.
“Virtually identical shares of
Latinos (59%) and the general public (58%) say homosexuality should
be accepted by society,” the report's authors wrote.
Thirty percent of Latinos and 33
percent of the general public say gay rights should be discouraged.
While a majority (53%) of immigrant
Hispanics favor gay rights, acceptance among second-generation
Hispanics rises to 68 percent.
Women more than men favor such rights –
62 percent versus 55 percent.
And support is greater among younger
Hispanics, with nearly seven-in-ten (69%) of 18-to-29-year-old
Hispanics saying homosexuality should be accepted by society; 60
percent of Hispanics ages 30 to 49 and 54 percent of Hispanics 50 to
64 agree. Hispanics ages 65 and older are more divided, with 41
percent saying homosexuality should be accepted by society and 44
percent disagreeing.
The survey also found that 80 percent
of Latinos believe gay people face discrimination, 74 percent support
marriage or similar legal recognitions for gay couples, and 68
percent of Latino Catholics do not believe being gay is immoral.