Dec 26, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

A large majority of Virginia residents believe gays should be allowed to hold government jobs and be protected from workplace discrimination, according to a new poll from Equality Virginia.

The poll, published Dec. 10, found that 90 percent of Virginians support the right of gays to work in the government, and 87 percent back protections from anti-gay workplace discrimination. A smaller majority, 79 percent, believes gays should be allowed to teach in public schools.

Additionally, the poll found that 83 percent of Virginia residents favor rights for gays to inherit property from their partners, and 64 percent favor rights for them to share workplace benefits with a partner.

Dyana Mason, executive director of Equality Virginia, said the poll would help her organization “remind elected officials that fairness and equality are not controversial issues.”

“They are issues that most Virginians, regardless of party, support, and they should support it, too,” she said.

Equality Virginia next year is expected to prioritize passing employment non-discrimination legislation for state and public employees. Such legislation would codify an existing executive order from Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) that prohibits discrimination in state employment based on sexual orientation.

Mason said data showing that a majority of Virginia residents support ending workplace discrimination would help convince lawmakers that “it is time for the General Assembly to pass legislation codifying the governor’s executive order.”

To obtain the poll’s information, the Schapiro Group and Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates in June surveyed a demographically representative sample of 800 registered voters in Virginia by phone.

Pollsters also asked whether respondents would still favor rights if they included transgender people as well as gays. Mason said for each of the questions the results were the same, but polling data for transgender people is not included in the report.