(LifeSiteNews) – A record-low 38% of Americans consider it “morally acceptable” to transition to a different gender and 57% consider it “morally wrong,” according to a new Gallup survey.
Gallup’s May 1-17 Values and Beliefs poll surveyed Americans for their opinion on the morality of 20 different behaviors, asking specifically to distinguish their moral judgment from their view of whether it should be legal. Gallup has run the poll since 2001 and says approval for transitioning is at a record low.
Unsurprisingly, there is a severe partisan gap on the issue, with just 5% of Republicans condoning transitions as opposed to 60% of Democrats (which nonetheless leaves a significant minority of the party opposed or ambivalent). Among Independents, 42% consider transitioning morally acceptable, slightly higher than the overall total.
“Over the past two decades, Americans have grown generally more accepting of most of the behaviors measured by Gallup, which include those associated with sex, marriage, and certain medical and end-of-life issues,” Gallup summarized. “However, this trend toward more permissive attitudes has largely plateaued or pulled back in recent years, though acceptance levels on most behaviors remain higher than they were 25 years ago.”
GALLUP: Moral acceptability of changing one’s gender hits new record low
✅️ Morally acceptable: 38%
❌️Morally wrong: 57%
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Net acceptability trend🟡 2021: (–5)
🟤 2025: ( –14)
🔴 2026: (–19) https://t.co/MqeMxiKzsS pic.twitter.com/6CQdKLp9PI— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) June 9, 2026
The findings add to a wealth of data showing that, despite overall trends toward liberalization, including continued majority support for government recognition of same-sex “marriages,” left-wing activists’ zeal to force affirmation of transgenderism in all aspects of public and private life have produced a backlash.
Sixty-six percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for gender transitions, according to an April 2025 Cygnal poll, and Pew Research found that 66% support limiting athletic participation to actual members of a team’s designated sex, 56% support prohibiting transition procedures on minors, and 53% oppose forcing insurance companies to cover transition services. A June 2025 Gallup poll found that not even half of Democrats support letting males compete in female sports.
After the 2024 presidential election, pro-Democrat firm Blueprint found that the statement “Kamala Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class” was the third-biggest reason for why overall voters chose not to vote for the former vice president and the number one reason why swing voters rejected her and voted instead for President Donald Trump.
Last month, the Democrat National Committee released an election autopsy report admitting that the Trump campaign’s attack ads about Harris’ transgender focus were particularly potent and acknowledging that “focus on social issues over economic issues alienated socially conservative voters who prioritized kitchen-table concerns.