Thoughts in a Haystack

A few days ago I noted the story about a national effort to stop the U.S. Senate from passing legislation that some alleged Christians claim threatens their "right" to express their biblical hatred of homosexuality. Specifically, the law presently prohibits acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color, or national original. The legislation being considered by the Senate, would add attacks based on the victim's gender, sexual orientation and gender identity.

It turns out the situation is more hopeful than it might have appeared:

Just a week after faith-based groups denounced the House vote approving the legislation, the Gallup Poll revealed 68 percent of Americans are for the expansion while only 27 percent oppose it. Moreover, 65 percent of Protestant and other non-Catholic Christians said they would favor it.

... 64 percent of those who attend church weekly expressed that they favor the bill. Among the less religious, 67 percent of those who attend church almost every week or monthly support the expansion and 73 percent of Americans who seldom or never attend church also favor it.

Even a healthy majority of conservatives, 57 percent, favor the expansion, though that is well below the 82 of liberals who approve of it. In fact, none of the groups identified in Gallup's standard categories, including Republicans, Independents, Democrats, conservatives, moderates, liberals, Protestants and those with no religious identity had a majority that opposed the legislation.

So it seems that most Americans don't think their religious beliefs will lead them to commit acts of violence against others. Now all we have to do is poll the statistical category under "politicians."