On Monday, the Ohio Senate debate took place between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan. The candidates debated several issues, including illegal immigration and abortion. Ohio, which is generally a swing state, has become “increasingly Republican” in recent elections, The New York Times noted. A poll published this week shows where Ohio voters stand on transgender issues.
A survey conducted by SurveyUSA and Baldwin Wallace University found that a majority of 856 Ohio voters oppose allowing transgender people to participate in sports and use restrooms aligning with their gender identities instead of their biological sex. And, the majority of voters oppose letting medical professionals provide “gender-affirming” care for minors (via Cleveland.com):
Among those surveyed, 51% said they were “strongly opposed” to letting medical professionals provide care for minors’ gender transitions, with 15% saying they were “somewhat opposed.” Just 9% said they strongly back letting minors medically transition, while 16% said they were somewhat in support.
Political moderates opposed minors transitioning by 44 points, conservatives opposed it by 71 points and liberals support it by 18 points. The interviewed voters were weighted by gender, age, race, education, and home-ownership to provide a representative cross section of the state’s adults.
Townhall covered earlier this year how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) launched investigations into the parents of transgender minors for possible child abuse. In the poll, 45 percent of Ohio voters said they’d support these types of investigations. Forty-three percent said they were opposed.
Lauren Copeland, one of the poll researchers, said that survey respondents had conservative answers to questions about transgender issues.
“The transgender issue is something that is relatively new, and I think it is going to take time for public opinion on this issue to become more liberal,” Copeland said.
The survey respondents opposed allowing transgender athletes to play on the teams that match their gender identities by 39 points, with 50% strongly opposed, 15% somewhat opposed, 14% somewhat in support, and 12% saying they strongly support transgender athlete participation on sports teams.
Survey participants opposed allowing transgender individuals to use public bathrooms that match their gender identities by 19 points. Forty-two percent said they strongly oppose it, 12% somewhat oppose, 17% somewhat support and 18% strongly support. Men who were surveyed registered objection levels more than twice as high as women.
In June, Townhall reported how a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that the majority of Americans – 55 percent – opposed allowing biological males who identify as women to compete in women’s sports at the college and professional level. The poll was taken at a time when “the issue of whether transgender females should compete against cisgender women and girls has become a point of social and political debate,” the poll write-up noted.
Another poll published by Pew Research found that 58 percent of Americans favor requirements for transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their biological sex. In addition, 41 percent of respondents said they favor requiring transgender individuals to use public restrooms that match their biological sex rather than their “gender identity.”
As for teaching gender identity curriculum in schools, 46 percent of Ohio voters support teaching this to sixth through twelfth grade students while 48 percent oppose. Respondents also support students being led in prayer on school grounds, whether by a fellow student (64 percent) or a coach (63 percent).