Houston-area residents feeling politically discriminated more than past 30 years: Kinder Institute

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you think we're politically divided right now, you're not the only one.

Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research has unveiled its latest Houston-area survey, which surveyed nearly 10,000 residents in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, and found that more people reported feeling politically discriminated against than at any time in the past three decades.

"There's a very big uptick in people experiencing political discrimination, feeling that they are being judged and treated differently because of their political beliefs," Dr. Daniel Potter with the Kinder Institute said. "This is not one party versus another. This is a feeling that exists across parties."

The survey has another, perhaps more surprising revelation when it comes to that feeling of divisiveness.

What if we have more in common than we think? Take, for example, contraceptive use.

The survey shows Democrats thought 39% of Republicans would call it morally wrong, and Republicans thought 27% of Democrats would.

The actual numbers for those who are against contraceptive use: 10% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats.

"We live in this world where we perceive differences between ourselves," said Dr. Potter.

Another issue where different groups unknowingly aligned was over criminal background checks for gun sales.

The survey shows Democrats believe 35% of Republicans support checks, and Republicans think 74% of Democrats support them.

But the survey shows 97% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans actually support them.

"We allow ourselves to be told this is controversial, this is the third rail. This is something we couldn't possibly do when the reality is you have more than 90% of both political parties pushing on that," Dr. Potter said.