Most Utahns support LGBTQ protections, study shows

SALT LAKE CITY — New data shows that the majority of people in Utah support LGBTQ protections. 

According to new report from Public Religion Research Institute, 86% of Utahns supported LGBTQ non-discrimination policies in 2023.  Additionally, the report showed that support increased from 81% from the previous year. In 2019, support was just 77%.

In fact, the data shows Utah is the most supportive “red state” in America.

Furthermore, data shows that Utahns support non-discrimination policies in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

Nationally, data from the Public Religion Research Institute showed public support for LGBTQ issues had slightly dipped. Support among Latter-day Saints rose to a record high of 78% nationwide. 

The report was shared by Equality Utah. In an email, the organization said it would continue to bridge ideological and political divides to further this work.

Opposition to LGBTQ policies

Although there are still those who oppose the support of non-discrimination policies, those numbers are dropping.

Nationally, the report showed opposition to allowing businesses to refuse services to LGBTQ Americans on religious grounds dropped from 65% in 2022 to 60% in 2023.

However, in Utah, that trend is reversed. Opposition to laws that allow people to discriminate based on religious grounds rose from 50% in 2019 to 56% in 2023. 

“This work remains our passion. And we don’t presume that these victories are invulnerable or ever permanent,” the Executive Director of Equality Utah, Troy Williams, said in an emailed statement.

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