Recent polling indicates that around two-thirds of Americans support measures that restrict transgender individuals from participating in gender-matched sports teams and changing their gender in government documents, like passports and driver’s licenses, according to Gallup’s latest report.
Support for these policies varies significantly by political affiliation. The data collected from May 1-18 suggests that Republican respondents largely dominate the support for these measures. This marks the first year that identity documents were included in the survey examining attitudes toward transgender individuals in sports.
About 41% of Democrats and 72% of Independents believe transgender people should compete in sports according to their assigned gender at birth. On the other hand, 38% of Democrats and 66% of Independents think transgender individuals shouldn’t be permitted to change their gender on official documents.
Interestingly, 14% of Democrats reported uncertainty about their stance on these issues. Conversely, nearly 90% of surveyed Republicans supported both policies.
This survey, released during Pride Month, highlights shifting public sentiments regarding President Trump’s policies concerning transgender rights. On his first day back in office, Trump reinstated an order recognizing only two genders—male and female—asserting that these identities are based on an unchanging, fundamental reality.
His order instructs the State Department and other agencies to require government-issued IDs to mirror the individual’s sex as per their gender identity, revoking the previous allowance for passport holders to self-select their gender designation.
A federal judge had previously halted the administration from enacting new policies until ongoing legal challenges from six transgender and non-binary Americans were resolved.
In a separate presidential order from February, Trump announced an opposition to “men’s competitive participation in women’s sports,” framing it as an issue of safety, fairness, and dignity. This order stated that federal funds could be withdrawn from schools that were seen to deprive women and girls of fair opportunities in athletics.
The administration has actively pursued this agenda, with over 20 investigations initiated by the education department since January into states and school districts potentially violating federal sex discrimination laws due to the inclusion of trans athletes in girls’ sports.
In April, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Maine’s Department of Education after it consistently resisted a Trump administration order banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. Additionally, California officials filed a suit against the Trump administration, anticipating legal pushback following a court ruling that allowed a transgender teenager to compete in a high school girls’ event.
Support for trans athletes has noticeably declined over recent years. When Gallup first asked in 2021 whether trans individuals should compete according to their gender identity, support was about 10% higher than the most recent findings.
The decline seems to be most pronounced among Democrats and Independents. Support among Democrats dropped from 55% in 2021 to 45% in 2025, while Independent support fell from 33% to 23% during the same period.
The Tuesday survey also included questions about the morality of changing one’s gender. Since Gallup first addressed this in 2021, the percentage of Americans who view gender changes as morally acceptable has decreased by six points to 40%. Among Republicans, this viewpoint has changed most dramatically, dropping 9% from four years ago.
Additionally, 64% of Americans are more likely to find “gay or lesbian relationships” morally acceptable. Notably, a recent Gallup survey revealed that support for same-sex marriage among Republicans has reached its lowest level in nearly three decades.
In the latest survey, respondents were queried about the origins of being transgender, a topic Gallup has explored in relation to homosexuality since 1977. Approximately half of Americans believe that external factors, such as environment and upbringing, play a more significant role in shaping gender identity than biological factors. Meanwhile, about 50% believe that individuals are born gay or lesbian, though opinions vary significantly across political lines.
While 57% of Democrats contend that people are born transgender, a solid 76% of Republicans think it’s primarily a result of personal development and environmental influences. Similarly, 74% of Democrats believe people are born gay or lesbian, while 62% of Republicans attribute sexual orientation more to external factors.
