February 6, 2013 - American Voters Back Gay Scouts, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds Word format PDF format The Boy Scouts of America should drop its ban on openly gay members, American voters say 55 - 33 percent in a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. There is a large gender gap as women support gay scouts 61 - 27 percent, compared to 49 - 39 percent among men, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. White Catholics support gay scouts 63 - 25 percent. Among white Protestants, 44 percent say open up scouting and 41 percent say no. White evangelical Protestants oppose gay scouts 56 - 33 percent. One troubling finding for Scouting in America is that 54 percent of voters say they were Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, while only 36 percent of voters, including 55 percent of former scouts, say they have children in Scouting. "Now that the Armed Forces ban on openly gay service members has been lifted, and polls show increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage, most American voters think it's time to open up the Boy Scouts too," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. From January 30 - February 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,772 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.3 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 47. Do you think The Boy Scouts of America should continue its ban on openly gay members or end its ban on openly gay members? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Continue ban 33% 51% 19% 31% 39% 27% 33% 28% 35% End ban 55 33 71 57 49 61 55 57 57 DK/NA 12 16 10 12 12 12 12 14 7 WHITE............................. SCOUTS COLLEGE DEG BrnAgn POL PHIL......... YESQ48 Yes No Prot Cath Evngl Lib Mod Con OR Q49 Continue ban 26% 36% 41% 25% 56% 16% 23% 56% 32% End ban 65 50 44 63 33 79 65 30 57 DK/NA 9 14 15 12 11 6 12 13 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Continue ban 25% 36% 37% 32% 27% 30% 28% 34% 38% End ban 64 51 50 59 62 62 61 53 46 DK/NA 11 13 13 9 11 8 11 13 17 HvKids <18 Continue ban 32% End ban 58 DK/NA 11 48. Were you yourself ever in the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 54% 54% 52% 56% 53% 54% 57% 43% 39% No 46 46 47 43 46 45 43 56 61 DK/NA - - - 1 1 - - 1 - WHITE............................. SCOUTS COLLEGE DEG BrnAgn POL PHIL......... YESQ48 Yes No Prot Cath Evngl Lib Mod Con OR Q49 Yes 64% 54% 55% 60% 51% 58% 55% 52% 82% No 36 46 45 40 48 41 45 47 18 DK/NA - 1 - - 1 1 - 1 - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes 63% 49% 52% 58% 55% 46% 51% 60% 49% No 37 50 48 42 44 53 49 39 50 DK/NA - 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 - HvKids <18 Yes 53% No 47 DK/NA - 49. Do you now have or did you ever have any children involved in the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 36% 39% 37% 36% 27% 44% 38% 35% 23% No 64 60 63 64 73 55 62 65 77 DK/NA - 1 - - - - - - - WHITE............................. SCOUTS COLLEGE DEG BrnAgn POL PHIL......... YESQ48 Yes No Prot Cath Evngl Lib Mod Con OR Q49 Yes 37% 38% 43% 42% 39% 34% 39% 37% 55% No 62 61 57 57 61 66 61 63 45 DK/NA 1 - - 1 - - - - - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS.............. Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-29 30-44 45-64 65+ Yes 36% 36% 36% 36% 35% 2% 30% 42% 59% No 63 64 64 64 65 98 70 58 41 DK/NA - - - - - - - - - HvKids <18 Yes 37% No 63 DK/NA - Demographic Summary
