CHALLENGING THE "MAJORITY SUPPORT" ARGUMENT ON NOT INTRODUCING ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION ON THE GROUND OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN HONG KONG

The Hong Kong Government has argued that anti-discrimination legislation on the ground of sexual orientation has not been introduced because "majority support" has not been reached. This article challenges such an argument by analysing data collected through a telephone survey of a representative sample of 1,005 adults. First, it questions whether public opinion should be given such weight in the policy debate by asking: How informed are the public about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people? Second, with the same data set, it found that there is already "majority support" for legislation against discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation. This article makes several contributions to the research literature. First, it challenges the "majority support" argument on not introducing anti-discrimination legislation on the ground of sexual orientation. Second, it debunks the myth that Hong Kong society is as negative on LGBT rights as portrayed. Third, it argues that the "majority support" argument should be scrutinised when it is deployed in other settings to delay or reject legal changes on controversial topics.