Vast Majority of Americans — and 56% of Republicans — Support ENDA

Americans are so convinced that it's wrong to fire or refuse to hire someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity that a vast majority of them believe it's already illegal to do so, reveals a new poll being touted by the Human Rights Campaign today in its push to pass the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The nationwide poll, conducted by conservative polling agency TargetPoint, surveyed 2,000 registered voters between September 3 and 8, and asked whether those voters believed it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay or transgender and whether it was already illegal on a federal level to do so.

A staggering 80% of respondents said they believed that federal law already forbade employer to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote someone because they are LGBT. A full 60% of national registered voters surveyed said anti-LGBT discrimination is a problem, while 54% of self-described Republicans said such discrimination is a problem.

When asked if they support a federal law that protects LGBT Americans from workplace discrimination, 68% of respondents answered in the affirmative, according to the poll. Just 21% said they oppose such legislation, with just 15% saying they "strongly" oppose such a bill. Among Republicans, 56% of respondents said they support a federal workplace nondiscrimination law, while just 32% answered that they oppose such a law.

HRC argues that these views translate to a broad, bipartisan, and nationwide majority in support of employment nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Americans and, more specifically, in favor of ENDA, which is expected to be debated in the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks.

Find more results from the poll here.