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Transgender people face an uncertain legal climate, and efforts to include gender identity in policies have been met with both successes and failures. These policies are often developed in the legislative process, which directly involve public opinion. To date, there is only one study analyzing American public attitudes toward transgender people. This research gap makes it unclear whether people in general understand what transgender means and whether public support for transgender rights depends on understanding and knowing transgender people. Since the population of transgender people is estimated to be smaller than that of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, examining whether and how having a friend or family member who is lesbian or gay relates to transgender rights is important to understand political coalitions and attitude change. This study examines public attitudes about transgender rights in the USA. It finds that as respondents report being more informed about transgender people they tend to have more supportive attitudes. Interpersonal contact with someone who is lesbian or gay also leads to a secondary transfer of positive attitudes. About half of the secondary transfer effect operates through a mechanism of attitude generalization: contact positively affects the opinions people have on gay rights that then broaden to affect attitudes on transgender rights. Demographic characteristics also indicate that predictors of transgender attitudes are similar to previous studies regarding attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. Further survey efforts need to consider inquiring about transgender rights and attitudes, as this remains a research gap in need of scholarly understanding.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people reside in practically every geographic region in the United States, with substantial variation regarding what proportion of that region is populated with LGB people. Given this variation, I analyze whether denser LGB congressional districts have an effect on individuals' views on relationship recognition rights for same-sex couples. LGB population density could have two potential effects: normalizing contact or contextual threat. I find that as the LGB population density in legislative districts increases, so too does the probability of individuals supporting relationship rights for same-sex couples. As the results indicate, context does not increase threat.

Situational contexts vary substantially across the country. This variation provides conditionswhere a subset of the American public may be exposed to situations that others arenot. How do contexts affect the politics of minority groups? In this dissertation, I examinehow the politics of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people are situated by differing contextsacross the United States. I examine how LGB presence aects and conditions the approvalof the mass public. I examine the mechanism this influence bears on representative behavior in Congress. I finally examine how varying contexts uniquely affects some LGBs over others. In total, I find that varying contexts situate the political positions of LGB peopledifferently. This results in unique conditions where LGB people are politically ininfluentialand cohesive.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people reside in practically every geographic region in the United States, with substantial variationregarding what proportion of that region is populated with LGB people. Given this variation, I analyze whether denser LGB congressional districts have an effect on individuals' views on relationship recognition rightsfor same-sex couples. LGB population density could have two potentialeffects: normalizing contact or contextual threat. I find that as the LGB population density in legislative districts increases, so too does theprobability of individuals supporting relationship rights for same-sexcouples. As the results indicate, context does not increase threat.

AbstractStudies of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people suggest that they are more politically engaged and active compared to cisgender and heterosexual people. However, knowing the voter registration rates of eligible LGBT Americans has been elusive because the U.S. Census Bureau does not document sexual orientation or gender identity in the Current Population Survey and existing estimates are limited based on small sample sizes or on self-reports, which have social desirability biases. The 2016 and 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey merges respondents to their official voter status as contained in state voter files, which overcomes biases in self-reported registration status. We provide demographics and estimates of voter registration rates by sexual orientation and gender expression. Many gaps in registration rates are attributable to demographic differences between groups, though lesbians and gay men were registered at greater rates than heterosexuals even after adjusting for demographics. Transgender Americans were the least likely to be registered to vote, though this may be due to the vote-validation process itself.

What are the effects of judicial action and policy implementation on attitude change? The previous literature indicates that attitudes may change, but there is some debate about its direction. According to some theories, legislation or litigation should strike a backlash, resulting in greater disapproval of the issue. Other perspectives contend that these acts reflect consensus, legitimate, or polarize the issue. We analyze panel data on attitudes toward same-sex marriage and feelings toward lesbians and gay men. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court made historic decisions on same-sex marriage, and residents in some states had same-sex marriage legalized. Given this variation, we decompose the multiple pathways attitudes change among residents in different policy contexts over time. We find that residents of states that had same-sex marriage policy introduced had the greatest reduction of anti-gay attitudes. We consider consensus and legitimacy as most applicable and provide minimal indication of backlash or polarization.

What are the effects of judicial action and policy implementation on attitude change? The previous literature indicates that attitudes may change, but there is some debate about its direction. According to some theories, legislation or litigation should strike a backlash, resulting in greater disapproval of the issue. Other perspectives contend that these acts reflect consensus, legitimate, or polarize the issue. We analyze panel data on attitudes toward same-sex marriage and feelings toward lesbians and gay men. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court made historic decisions on same-sex marriage, and residents in some states had same-sex marriage legalized. Given this variation, we decompose the multiple pathways attitudes change among residents in different policy contexts over time. We find that residents of states that had same-sex marriage policy introduced had the greatest reduction of anti-gay attitudes. We consider consensus and legitimacy as most applicable and provide minimal indication of backlash or polarization.