A majority of Americans say transgender
people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos
opinion poll of 1,249 adults released on Friday, 58% of respondents
agreed with the statement, “Transgender people should be allowed to
serve in the military,” while 27% disagreed.
The poll was conducted in the wake of
President Donald Trump's announcement in a series of tweets on
Wednesday that the military will no longer “accept or allow”
transgender troops to serve “in any capacity.”
(Related: Trump
says military will bar transgender troops.)
The following day, the Pentagon
clarified that the policy on transgender troops had yet to change.
(Related: Pentagon:
No official change has been made on transgender service.)
Democrats (83%) mostly oppose Trump's
proposed ban. Republicans are more evenly divided.
Forty-nine percent of Republicans said
that transgender Americans should be allowed to serve in the
military, while 32 percent remain opposed. Nineteen percent of
Republicans said they don't know.
Thirty-two percent of respondents said
that such a ban would “hurt morale,” while 17 percent said it
would “improve morale.” Thirty-three percent said it would “have
no impact.”
A plurality of respondents to the poll
(43%) said that prohibiting transgender service members would have
“no impact” on military capabilities. Twenty-two percent said
such a ban would make the military “less capable,” while 14
percent said “more capable.”