A recent poll published by Politico/Morning Consult found that a slim majority of Americans demonstrated support for the controversial Florida ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill that recently made its way through the state legislature.
The poll yielded that 51 percent of Americans either strongly or somewhat supported the bill while just 37 percent opposed it. Among party affiliation, 70 percent of Republicans backed the bill while 46 percent of independents and 35 percent of Democrats felt the same way, a double-digit surge among non-conservatives from an ABC News poll that reported a slim majority against the bill just weeks ago. The poll was diligent in mirroring the text from the bill, specifying that the policy would be enacted for school curriculum in grades kindergarten through third grade.
“As you may know, the Florida legislature has passed a bill – labeled by opponents as the ’Don’t Say Gay’ bill – limiting the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to Florida school students. Some say that limiting these discussions will protect children from inappropriate classroom topics, while others say it will block important conversations about LGBTQ issues,” Politico/Morning Consult said in the survey. “To what extent do you support or oppose the following items in the bill? Banning the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.”
Politico/Morning Consult subsequently asked “To what extent do you support or oppose the following items in the bill? Limiting lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity after third grade to ’age appropriate’ discussions,” which, like the previous question, showed a slim majority in support at 52 percent.
The aforementioned ABC News poll drew nationwide eyes, with bill opponents using the practice as evidence that the bill does not represent the wants of Floridians and Americans at large. However, the poll misrepresented the bill, not specifying an opposition to the prohibition of teaching sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade, but its abolition as a whole, spanning all grades and school settings. ABC News reported that the poll found that 61 percent of Americans responded that they oppose the incorrectly framed bill.
Additionally, ABC News stated that it “oversampled people who identify as LGBTQ” when finding that 87 percent of them also opposed the bill but added the poll “weighted” their responses “to match their correct proportion in the general population,” according to Fox News.
The Daily Wire also published a poll this week that reflected consistent support across political beliefs, with 69 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents, and a surprising 62 percent of Democrats. The poll provided a more nuanced question, asking voters, “Do you believe it is appropriate or inappropriate for teachers and school personnel to instruct children in kindergarten through 3rd grade on various sexual orientations?”
“A clear majority of Americans (65 percent), including 69 percent of parents, say it is ‘inappropriate’ for teachers to instruct students in grades K-3 on sexual orientations while 21 percent say it is ‘appropriate,’” the Daily Wire reported.
Typical Bolshevik push poll. Question uses the inaccurate and intentionally misleading “Don’t say gay” statement, and intentionally did not mention the age group specified is kindergarten through third grade, instead misleading with the broader term “to Florida school students”.