A new poll from Gallup shows that LGBTQ+ rights is the only policy area in which more Americans believe progress has been made than believe progress has been lost. The poll asked people whether they believe that the U.S. made progress, stood still, or lost ground on various issues including taxes, education, and healthcare in the last four years since President Joe Biden took office. For 17 of the 18 topics Gallup asked about, people responded that the country has lost ground. Related New poll finds strong majority opposes gender-affirming care bans for trans minors At the same time, a slim majority calls transitioning morally wrong. The last, though, was Situation for gay, lesbian, transgender people. Thirty-nine percent of Americans believe that the country has made progress here while only 23% believe that the country lost ground. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today | Screenshot/GallupIts hard to know how people were interpreting some of the categories. For example, different people might interpret progress on the question of taxes differently, either referring to how they believe the distribution of the tax burden changed or to how much they were personally paying in taxes. The economy could refer to unemployment, inflation, housing, or several other issues.Democrats, though, were more likely to have a better impression of the country than Republicans and had a net positive view of the Biden presidency when it came to energy, the situation for Black people, infrastructure, trade relations, national defense, terrorism, crime, the U.S.s position in the world, climate change, healthcare, education, and race relations, as well as LGBTQ+ equality.Republicans said that the country lost ground on 17 out of 18 issues by much wider margins than the general population, but they did agree that progress was made on the situation for gay, lesbian, transgender people. The results could be explained by how many people base their perception of the country on who is currently in the White House. Republicans sentiment about the economy dropped precipitously when Biden took office in 2021, while Democrats sentiment increased, for example.The perception that things have only improved for LGBTQ+ people is at odds with increased attacks on transgender rights that have occurred over the last four years. No states had banned gender-affirming care for trans youth at the beginning of 2021, but now over half of states have. Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced at the state-level each year by Republicans since Biden took office. And just last year, the first anti-LGBTQ+ piece of legislation to pass Congress in decades was signed into law.In 2017, the same poll found a much wider gap on the question about LGBTQ+ equality with regards to the Obama administration, with a gap between made progress and lost ground of 52% compared to 16% for Biden. During the Obama administration, Dont Ask, Dont Tell was repealed, marriage equality became a reality in all states, and approval of LGBTQ+ people increased precipitously. Americans still thought progress was made under Donald Trumps first term, but with a margin of only 4%.The 2017 survey only asked about gays and lesbians and the 2021 survey about Trump asked about gay and lesbian Americans.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.