The United States’ public opinion is split on whether public schools should have the authority to ban books, due to some parents’ disapproval. This new turn of events was revealed by a recent national survey.

The UMass-Amherst/WCVB national poll sought people’s views on book removals in response to parental objections. These objections are generally related to content featuring sexual orientation or race.

Of the respondents, 28% expressed strong support for the removal of books that contain discussions of sexual orientation and have faced objections. On the other hand, 31% were vehemently against such a policy.

In terms of racial content, 13% were strongly in favor of removing books that have met objections; whereas a larger portion, 39%, strongly opposed this action.

The UMass-Amherst/WCVB national survey is based on the responses of 1,133 people. It was also taken between May 31 and June 8 and has a margin of error of 3.4%.

In other findings, the poll revealed that 35% of respondents expressed strong support for a bill preventing transgender youth from joining sports teams that align with their gender identity. On the flip side, 13% of Americans were strongly against such a proposal.

When it came to a potential law that would criminalize the provision of gender-affirming healthcare to transgender youth, 25% of those surveyed expressed support. Yet, there are 22% who stated they would be strongly against such a measure.

Regarding perceptions of gender, a significant majority — 60% of all those polled — expressed the belief that being a man or woman is something fixed and unchangeable.

This survey brings to light the considerable divide in the United States’ public opinion on the topics of book censorship in schools, participation of transgender youth in sports, and access to gender-affirming healthcare.