By Moni Basu, CNN
(CNN) – Measuring the nation's gay population has always been tricky. Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are still subject to social stigma, and many are not comfortable answering questions about their identity.
But in the largest survey of its kind conducted by Gallup, 3.4% of all Americans identified themselves as part of the LGBT community.
Gallup interviewed 120,000 Americans and found that the highest percentages of LGBT identification occurred among non-white, younger and less educated Americans.
Demographer Gary Gates said the survey sheds light on the diversity and complexity of the LGBT community.
"They offer an unprecedented resource for informing LGBT-related debates like those regarding marriage, parenting and workplace discrimination with much-needed facts rather than stereotype or anecdote," said Gates, a scholar with the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation and gender identity issues.
The survey differs from the 2010 census, which for the first time measured sexual orientation. But the census counted same-sex partners and same-sex spouses - 516,396 households.
Of note in the latest Gallup survey, released Thursday, is the fact that non-whites are more likely to identify themselves as LGBT than whites, which challenges common belief that large numbers of the community are white, male and wealthy.
The Gallup poll showed that 4.6% of African-Americans identify as LGBT along with 4% of Latinos and 4.3% of Asian-Americans. Only 3.2% of white Americans say they are LGBT.
More women - 3.6% - identified as LGBT than men - 3.3%. That means 53% of the LGBT community are women.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, younger adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were more than three times as likely as seniors 65 and older to identify as LGBT - 6.4% of younger Americans said they were LGBT versus 1.9% of older people.
The new survey showed LGBT identification is highest among Americans with the lowest levels of education. Of those with a high school education or less, 3.5% identify as LGBT compared with 2.8% of those with a college degree and 3.2% of those with post-graduate education. LGBT identification is highest among those with some college education but not a college degree, at 4.0%.
How will America's LGBT population affect the presidential election?
Gallup found that 44% of LGBT Americans identify as Democratic; 43% as independent; and only 13% as Republican. That compares to 32% of non-LGBT Americans who identify as Democratic, 39% as independent, and 30% as Republican. The respective numbers in the non-LGBT community are 32% Democratic, 39% independent and 30% Republican.
"Given the strong Democratic tilt of the LGBT population, it is not surprising that registered voter preferences of LGBT Americans tilt strongly - but not monolithically - toward Barack Obama," the survey said. "Specifically, 71% of LGBT Americans who are registered voters support Obama, while 22% support Mitt Romney."
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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3.4%...seems like a small group...but it also seems like every one of them is on my TV during prime time...gheez
The media has created the illusion that the gay population is higher than it really is because it's fashionable in the artistic communities. 15% of people in the US are in poverty, but they're not cool so they don't get a television show.
I don't get it! Elaborate please.
Is 3.4% within the margin of error?
Well, they have a long way to catch up to illegals, they're almost 10%.
The only way for them to catch up to 10% is through adoption and subsequent conversion. Trouble is so many danged kids go against their stupid parent's wishes.
Gay is not contagious and can't be taught. No gay parent in their right mind would subject their children to discrimination, to you or people like you.
If you think gay people turn kids gay... you're a moron!
We coddle illegal immigrants better than we do fully red-blooded tax-paying gay Americans. Houston school taxes are outrageous. We are literally educating about a 3rd of the Mexican school age children between Texas and California.
He said ILLEGAL alien komrade DeeCee10000!
Your pathetic little response is typical of the ILLEGAL komrade lib alien lovers that try, pathetically I might add, to combine the two groups, ILLEGAL aliens (a.k.a criminals), legal aliens (a.k.a people who busted their backsides get here LEGALLY).
Scott
Why such a low percentage? I always thought the generally accepted number was about 10%, and that was years ago. You'd think the number would have increased by now.
You everyone is honest?? Its same way when they ask about Christianity
It's more accepted now that years ago, so you wouldn't think the number would decrease.
Many who have had to live a lifetime of discrimination are reluctant to be open and honest. Besides it could be a teenager down the street conducting a prank call.
Probably a lot of those who are LGBT are worried about what would happen if someone found out. It's sad because no one should be afraid of being who they are.
Perhaps you aren't familiar with the religious right and their tactics.
Chris
Why such a low percentage? I always thought the generally accepted number was about 10%, and that was years ago. You'd think the number would have increased by now.
Considering they can't reproduce.....the number can't really increase now, can it?
The report that said 10% was flawed.
Scott
With only 1/33 of us defective, I suppose mankind might just survive a little longer. The good news is that each generation they willfully remove themselves from the gene pool. Darwin insists they can`t make it.
So you are saying it is choice and not genetic?
Gay people don't need to produce more gay people... straight people produce gay people every day. Gay people have been around for thousands of years. If anything, the numbers are going to increase.
Ever hear of the word "closeted?" Lots of gay folk don't identify as gay to avoid discrimination. What is amazing is that 3.3% of the population are willing to be out enough to answer "yes!"
Agreed. And most importantly, the headline is very misleading because it averages the 1.9% of older and 6.8% of younger people who are willing to disclose this. It is obviously higher than 6.8% since we are not yet in a world where even young people can disclose it without fear. I suspect 10% maybe a little higher.
If the poll was done anonymously which is very likely the case, then being closeted doesn't matter. The results are probably more accurate than you wish.
We have made our world safe enough where 6.8% of young people can come out at an early age and be who they are. The older population grew up in a time when coming out was impossible. Why come out now at the end of their life? If anything, those numbers will continue to increase. That is the reason why all of these marriage amendments are happening. In ten years, the acceptance of the LGBT community will likely be 70 to 80%.
I wouldn't answer correctly to the Gallup poll. It could be a Christian at my local elementary school trying to get me fired.
My friend left the gay lifestyle once he got older. When your looks change due to age, many of your gay "friends" abandon you.
your friend left gay lifestyle, but you don't have to. don't give in to social pressure
Uh! I don't what planet you are from, but gay people have children all of the time. Artificial insemination, adoption and natural born children. You are very hostile. Have you tried xanax.
@Ron D. There are straight people that can't have children.
Welll, most gays are liberal Democrats, so that demographic won't be growing a lot.....
I've thought that all along, Pat. We're at 7 billion now. Imagine how bad it'd be if EVERYONE throughout history had been straight and procreated.
Well how would you respond if some stranger called you on the phone and started asking about your se xuality?
I'd tell the Congressman to stop calling me.
I've been to gay bars from Amsterdam to Longview, Texas and the majority of men at the clubs are white men.
"Gay adolescents are reading this stuff too."
On your computer, Jim?
Mormonism?
LOL. Gina, THAT was funny!
Well, that's 3.4% who are willing to identify. How many more are NOT willing to identify? Lots. Especially in America's most conservative areas. The 10% number is probably still about right.
Who would want to answer honestly when Aunt and Uncle Bigot are visiting and sitting three feet away.
Actually, the 10% number was NEVER "right." It came from one small and poorly done study years ago.
DATis right...the actual figure is much higher than 10%.
Actually, researches a UCLA recently did a survey of the top, most recent studies and pegged the number at around 1.7%. Why is it so important the number be bigger, even in the face of all the evidence? Who is committed to a "flat earth" here?
The point is that we are nowhere near far enough removed from our terrible discriminatory past to answer honestly.
This routine is tiresome. Anytime anyone has any question of any kind about anything gay, the implication is that the person is repressed or a hater. The obsession lies with the media who has kept the issue front and center for years now.
Currently about 15% of all Americans are living in poverty, including 22% of children. It's just not as fashionable these days to worry about these folks.
Amen, Elaine.
Thanks for taking the skin flute out of your mouth long enough to comment.
I totally agree that marriage, between a man and woman is sacred! That is why statistics show upwards of 50% of marriages end in divorce! It is so sacred that my mom was married 3 times! Each of my sisters 2 times! Keep marriage sacred and let drop the bomb someplace else because a 2000 year old man written story says we should.
Too bad Elizabeth Taylor died before she could marry husband number 9.
If it is so dear why do so many get divorced?
Thank god that the vast majority of gay haters are over 50. I am 24, so in about 15-20 years we should see a more tolerant America. The natural cycle will make things right
You just made some kind of negative generalization and then call others out for being intolerant. Just throwing that out there.
Who votes against civil unions? Who votes against gay marriage? Who votes against work place protection laws for LGBT? Check on the demographics that overwhelmingly votes against GAY rights.
Can I have proof of what the demographic is or are you just going to talk out of your behind as you make negative assumptions and unironically call others bigots?
For just 3.4% of the population, there sure is a lot of noise about them. Based on the attention they receive, you'd think it was 50% of the population.
And then there's that 13% of the population that feels like 99.
After 10 years of witnessing religion in the Middle East, America is taking a good long look at the worms in our own religious apples. It is about time.
more like 50%...not 3.4%...have you been to the gym? so many so-called str8 guys pumping it up in the shower. their eyes gazed over at the nice yum yum big round booties on the workout floor. oh... have you seen guys drooling all over the footballers' booties during monday night games? ooooooo... they love seeing footballers bending over. wish they could tackle those 2 round delicious booties right then and there lol
That's really just you. You're projecting your own reality onto the rest of the world.
So Kinsey's "10%" bullsh-t has finally been laid to rest.
1> Kinsey proposes a spectrum of secuality.
2> This research is only of those who IDENTIFY as LGBT.
3> There's still a massive stigma around claiming to be LGBT.
If anything this study reinforces Kinsey. Seems reasonable that there are going to be more people who won't/can't admit their orientation or who are on the spectrum and don't identify as bi than there are people who would admit to itenditying as LGBT in a survey.
If you don't have a statistically meaningful way of estimating the number of people who won't answer honestly in a survey like this, then any number you float beyond the actual observation has inevitably less weight than the actual observed number.
I agree that this is likely to be an underestimate, but by what proportion (a tenth too low, half too low, etc) is not something I have the data to speculate upon.
That leaves just about 97% of the population to breed with reckless abandon like there is no tomorrow. Thank goodness for Child Protective Services and gay adoptions.
So they interviewed 120K people out of 300 Million and came to the conclusion that 3.4% are gay? Really? Is that really a viable random sampling to use. Wouldn't you think you need a lot more than that to get a real number?
What is even more ridiculous is when they would ask this question to people before being gay was legal in 2003. They would call their results scientific. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did they completely stay out of the San Francisco Bay area?
Dave it's called statistical sampling. Do you think these poll showing Obama ahead actually called and talked to 100 million voters? No they extrapolate that out of the responses from 750-1500 people.
120,000 people is a mssively legit sample size. Anyone questioning the number can of course assertane that there are some who will not answer, same with any poll. But, with zero evidence, assume 3.4 actually means upwards of 10 is a delusion.
Scientific evidence points to less than 5%.
god made gay people and he doesn't make mistakes
God makes people, people make [bad] choices. I suppose Charles Manson isn't a mistake in your eyes?
G-od didn't make anybody. Our parents made us.
“Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.”
― George Carlin
you mean mocking "faith" right? That's the trendy victimization whine
Are you also against the hatred that is spread by so-called Christians?
Jim, until your church starts to preach to its followers that YOU are evil for being who you are and that you need to change YOUR se xuality or else, don't critisize others who are going through that. You obviously don't know what it's like and you obviously really don't care that millions of Americans are being suppressed.
I am against people derailing message boards to unrelated discussions of hate as they masquerade as tolerant people.
Jim, it's funny you bring that up as I had this conversation with a Christian (not assuming you are, she just happens to be) friend of mine. I read his comment and it's all about an American's freedom of religion. Err, rather, an equal freedom FROM religion. So while you have every right to follow whichever religion you so choose, I have every right to not subscribe to your notion of thought or any deity you choose. You then call me intolerant and I shout the same thing back to you. It's a merry-go-round of fun!
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! Religion has been the driving force behind gay discrimination for hundreds of years. Face the music baby.
Can you explain to me how this is unrelated?
Religion as the new victim will never sell in our lifetime.
Common Sense this article has nothing to do with religion. Nothing at all.
By the way Jim telling people not force their beliefs on to others is not attacking religion. I am a Christian myself who comes from point of view that says hate is the worst sin one can commit. It makes me so angry when people on this board use Christianity to as a cover to spread hatred.
Common sense I don't care if you are a scientologist. The point is you are all coming here attacking and mocking religion and then act like you can take some kind of moral high ground. There are more people bashing religion then gays here. That says something. Keep spreading that hate.
This is great example of the difference between anecdotal evidence (the people you know) and scientific evidence (a large survey of the population).
Your small sample size is easily biased, and thus is unlikely to represent the actual population, whereas the sample size of the survey is large enough that it much better represents reality.
do you own a dictionary? maybe you should bust it out next time before you vomit this kind of stupidness
Our church was losing membership. The pastor went on vacation and left it to head elder (73 year old white male) to issue a public apology for years of discrimination against gays in the congregation.
Funny that for decades Conservatives were called liars, manipulators, blinded-by-bias for disputing early claims that said about 10%+ of the population was gay. They always argued that the number was more like 2-4%. Guess they were right all along. Well....if they were so right and Liberals were so wrong about that, I wonder what other things regarding LGBT issues the Liberals are wrong (or lying) about, too.
When Gallup starts calling cell phones I will give their polls some interest. Until then, they are reaching the old and sick and unemployed on land lines.
"Veritas" still thinks the world is flat. . .he's a little slow.
If you read the story you'd realize that the liberals are actually closer to the right number. The poll confirmed that 3.4% of all respondents identified as LGBT. However, 6.4% of younger people did while only 1.9% of older people did. Thats because being LGBT was not acceptable when older Americans were growing up. Also, keep in mind that it still is hard to be LGBT today and that kids at school are bullied and that religious families still 'disown' gay family members, and you likely have a number close to the 10% figure.
You also have to factor in that a lot of young woman in college claim to be bi or gay just to "experiment" but usually leave college straight.
Agreed
walk into obamas church with the racist hater jeremiah wright
Can all of you point out who is gay in your community? I'd think that most of you can't and would be surprised if anyone you loved or cared for came out and told you they were gay. Would all of you disown a family member who came out to be gay whom you claimed to love before? Would that change your perception on them? If so I feel sorry for you. My family was just as shocked as my friends when I came out. I'm half way through college, half of them couldn't believe that I'm a lesbian. How does it honestly affect any of you? People are people. You love who you love. I love my girlfriend, and I would love to have equal rights as everyone else. The same rights that women fought for back in the 20s and the African Americans and other cultures had to fight for. It's America, everyone has rights I thought?
It affects me because it indicates the continual decline of society and the moral fiber that once held this great nation together.
Oh I know! Treating women like chattel and having slaves was soooooo much better!
Hmmm. I'm in the military. My husband is a school teacher. We've been together 25 years, own a home, pay taxes, go to church, volunteer, support charitable organizations. Seems we're contributing to stability in our community. How about you?
Moral fiber is a myth. Just look at the Vietnam and Korean wars. We are a warring nation. Child Protective Services is overworked and underfunded.
Gee, could it be that someone who is gay and college educated doesn't admit it because it may harm their career? And how many elderly adults have hidden they are gay because of the narrow mindedness that they have lived with their entire lives? This poll is so useless and the numbers are totally skewed. The percentage of LGBT Americans is easily double that, I'm betting.
I hear you sister! You can't beat down a subgroup of Americans for generations and then suddenly expect them to expose themselves to the volatility that is easily gauged here on this blog.
It's probably about 7%, which is what gays and lesbians have been saying for years now.
You want the real number? Ask businesses that sell things to people with lots of disposable income. They know it by state, street and smart phone
So why does every other show on TV have a gay character? By this reckoning, less than 1 in 20 people is gay. There's little stigma left in America against being gay – almost the contrary – it's become popular in many social settings and schools to be gay. So we don't have a lot of reason to think this underestimates the percentages. And, one has to wonder why people 18-29 are 3 times more likely to identify as gay than older people. The gay community has pretty consistently stated that about 10% of the population is gay, and you'd think that would run through all ages. Does it not? Good article, and interesting results that seem to challenge the 'message' of the gay community.
Wrong there is much more of a stigma with older people. The survey found out that rate among the young to be 6.4% and 8.3% among young woman. Given that young woman are more likely to be comfortable with it then young men and not all young woman are out it is highly likely that the rate is actually well above 10%.
Less than one in twenty admit in a survey to being gay. All the statistics here are in reference to percentages of those willing to out themselves in a survey. It does not account for those who privately acknowledge to be gay, nor does it account for those living in denial.
A lifetime of Sunday school can be detrimental.
I went to sunday school and I am still a practicing Christian. But I have been taught that hatred is the worst sin one can commit. Shame on these so called christians that thrive on hatred.
Much larger percentage of population is left-handed, though most are white and well educated. Let's protect them from the thoughtless right-handed majority,,,,oh, sorry, not politically important at the moment. Never mind.
LOL. ACTUALLY there was a time not that long ago when nuns used to punish students for using their left hand. Nuns used to believe that it was the work of the devil to use the left hand.
not long ago at all...
Because there is SOOOO much stigma against being left handed
There used to be in some circles.
The polls are now closed. Results:
LGBT: 0%
Straight: 0%
Please show us your scientific credentials.
Obama said if he had a son he would probably be gay (like him). I am not sure if that's true. I think he might just be pandering for votes. The bulk of his support comes from GBLTs, blacks, other minorities, people in poverty, Hollywood "stars" and other rich, noblesse oblige folks with a guilty conscience (think Warren Buffett and Bill Gates). What a rainbow coalition!
Funny!!!!! All the people you mentioned are AMERICANS.
Rufus was taught that diversity is a dirty word. Poor poor Rufus.
Your hero Ayn Rand got lung cancer from smoking and used Medicare
only 3.4% then why is it 50% on TV?
especially educational TV
Because we're fabulous.
Did you read the article? 6.4% of young (18 to 30) are out and that jumps to 8.3% of young woman. Older populations are much less likely to be out because it is not as acceptable in their generation. The true gay rate is over 10% if you assume that young woman are the most likely to be out, but not 100% of them. So 8.3% + those that are still closeted puts you way over 10%. BTW over 70% voting for Obama and 22% for Mitler. Do the math, gays give 5% jump to Obama and democrats, time for the Grumpy OLD Party to join the 21st century.
God help us, our future population and kids if it is really over 10% which I highly doubt. I love the gay mafia coming in refusing to accept these statistics. You can live your life and do whatever I don't care. Enough with the in your face crap already.
50%?!?!? Where in the world are you coming up with that statistic?
You really shouldn't talk so badly about Gods creations.
it's the old ploy of "if you can't persuade, at least distract."
The first sentence of this article says it all. This study is inaccurate. Until people are comfortable being open and honest about who they are we will never get a true representation or idea about this segment of the American population.
It wasn't even legal to be gay until 2003. Do they really expect honesty?
It's probably somewhere around 7%.
These polls were likely anonymous and thus are more accurate than you claim
No. Having lived life both closeted and now out, not to mention forced into the closet by DADT, anonymous or not, I would not have self-identified as gay in a survey, for fear that anonymity could not be guaranteed by pollsters.
Face it, if you want fair and balance news, you'll have to avoid leaving your favorite website, Fox News. We'll miss you!
Snap high in the air if you just don't care!
click Like if you're LGBT
does that 3.4% include all the priests, cus it should, that will take it to 20% LOL
Insurance statistics show that Priests (Catholic) are less than half as likely to molest children as other clergy.
Gallup is still calling land lines and reaching the unemployed then calling it scientific evidence.
I second that. Almost every gay person I know has a college degree with tons of disposable income.
It is really quite silly to try to get a handle on the numbers when they have been beaten down for generation after generation after generation by conservatives.
I got called and said it was none of your business. The figure is way low. No one I know would answer it.
I've been to gay bars all over the world. The majority of the people there are white men.
3.4% are gay. Even after decades of relentless pro-gay promotion in the media and Hollywood. That means 96.6% are not. Stop the relentless promotion of those who have chosen this disgusting way of life.
Take a good long look at the budget to keep Child Protective Services afloat in every state in this country, then double it because that is the amount they really need, then get back to us with your dribble.
Agreed Blake. Why should we tolerate an expansion or acceptance of such a sickness on humanity. And just because the medical community caved under social pressure to remove it from the list of sicknesses, does not mean it is not still an abnormality. Hopefully we will find the cure.
Dave – the scientific community does cave under pressure. That stopped with the Inquisitions.
Oops! Does not cave.
It is about time that a new organization spoke freely and didn't cowtow to the advertising dollar.
and the old ones too.
This is what i will never understand about americans... why do you hate people who are diffrent?? Canada is not perfect. but is sure nice not to live in such a paranoid, ignorant, hate filled place like the USA. Gay people are not asking to be treated diffrent they are asking to be given the respect and dignity that people in a "free" country have.
I can tell by most of the comments it looks like we all have a long way to go.
When 46% of the population doesn't believe in evolution, it goes downhill from there.
Thank you Canada. Can we send some of these bigots up to your country? We can send them way up north so they won't bug you?
Is this a joke? Over 300 million ppl of the most diverse backgrounds compared to Canada which only has a population of 57 million mostly white and you are talking about America being intolerant? What is wrong with you?
HAVE YOU EVER BEING TO CANADA? toronto? Vancouver? Montreal?
I didn't think so..
This message board is not a representation of the US.
People hate the 97% media coverage on LBGT issues. On and on and on. Our TV programs make it look like its closer to 50%. The new norm, right?
You are right.. I live in Pittsburgh and people here are just fantastic. Bigots in Pittsburgh? sure there are some, I just have never came across them. Most people are very nice..
I am Canadian living in Pittsburgh is funny and at the same time is sad, I heard a member of the congress science committee Todd Akin, Missouri Representative and Senate candidate, talking about that "legitimate rape" would only rarely lead to pregnancy, because the woman had the capability to shut down the entire thing down.. Now this guy is a MEMBER OF congress science committee..!!!
3.4% but seems like every TV show needs to have a LGBT. I'm all for equal rights but I don't need to have to explain it to my 6 year old while relaxing watching a show. I just don't watch shows like that or skip a season until the LGBT is no longer on.
Hard thing top explain lol. Mommy, Daddy...Why is that guy kissing another guy? Same reason Mommy and Daddy do. They love each other.
Problem solved, pretty easy really.
So I take it that, if this were 1960, you would avoid TV shows that depict a bi-racial couple? Or do you do that today?
Me too Daren, even my old favorite Al Bundy is on a disgusting show I refuse to watch.
Explaining why two men or two women love each other to a child takes 10 seconds because it's a very simple. Explaining why they should hate that love takes a lot longer and is a lot more complicated.
Well said, Eric.
Why this is news when there are more important things to discuss??
Because human and civil rights have been on the back burner for too long.
When you choose to be more like an animal than a human, you should not have rights.
Always the need to piggy back on racial issues.
You do know that adolescents read this stuff too. No wonder so many gay youths take their lives.
What REALLY sucks is when you are a man that feels like a woman attracted to woman. Being a male lesbian is about as hard a life as it gets!!
I believe this number to be actually higher if people were honest.
However, 3.4 % of the U.S population is over ten million people. If gays resided in their own state that state would be the 8th largest in the nation. So, if you think this group is too "Insignificant" than maybe most states shouldn't vote.
I wouldn't care if just one person was gay our country is about everyone having a voice.
It only became legal to be gay in 2003. Do they really expect honesty when Aunt and Uncle Bigot are sitting two feet away.
GBT yuck, icky, gross, but I's likes to watch me some lesbians I tell you what.
Wow a whole 3.4%! What a powerhouse voting block.
Gay men are at work and don't have a minute in the day to answer Gallup polls. Call me on my cell phone and then maybe I'll find 5 minutes to answer your questions.
Yes, I heard Men At Work were gay.
And they come from a land down under.
That percentage could adopt a lot of unwanted children born out of wedlock, children thrown to the curb, children thrown in dumpsters and legally dropped off at a fire station.
Those 6.8% of young people who identify as LGBT have parents and siblings. I'm straight but have some gay relatives. The "voting block" is probably 5X the number of actual gays.
3.4% of the population but 20% of HIV cases. What are they doing wrong? oh yeah they are sticking their schlogs into the wrong hole
Educate yourself! The type of hole makes no difference.
Actually, it does. Coming from a medical professional.
do you know that your father also put his schlog in your mom's wrong hole 11 times??, ask your mom and hope u will be more educated next time
I am a 59 YO gay man. I'm proud of it. Some of the remarks on here are, at best, ignorant. I'm very well educated, have a great job, pay taxes like everyone else and yet I cannot marry whom I choose to be with. What an intolerant, ignorant society we have created. I don't want "special" rights, I want the same rights as everyone else, period.
And why do you deserve them?
He "deserves" them as a human being, same as you.
Seriously!!.. do you know why some people are gay? There is no scientific explanation for the phenomena, so how can we judge someone on a behavior that no one can seriously understand?
Same way you get yours: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
For the very same reason you deserve them.
Amen brother! Equal rights for ALL....
You obviously have no values or sense of morality.
You have the exact same rights I have. What you are asking for are "special" rights
This is what i will never understand about americans... why do you hate people who are diffrent?? Canada is not perfect. but is sure nice not to live in such a paranoid, ignorant, hate filled place like the USA. Gay people are not asking to be treated diffrent they are asking to be given the respect and dignity that people in a "free" country have.
I can tell by most of the comments it looks like we all have a long way to go.
He has the right to marry the person he loves?
So if I love my dog i should be able to marry my dog?
How is marriage a "special right"?
How is protection from discrimination a "special right"?
As for the ridiculous comments about dogs – with the exception of human beings of a consenting age, animals cannot enter legal agreements. Neither can minor children or inanimate objects. If you are going to participate in a dialogue about civil rights, at least be smart about it.
"What an intolerant, ignorant society we have created. I don't want "special" rights, I want the same rights as everyone else, period."
Uh, you do have the same rights that I have to marry a woman. BTW, this "intolerant, ignorant society" has somehow survived for thousands of years and managed to propogate the species (which you and your "other" cannot do) so you could sit here on your dimpled ass in the 21st century and declare how you are oppressed. What an ignorant drama queen!
That "You DO have the same rights as I do!" argument was used in the fight against interracial marriage. It was just as fallacious then as it is now.
Well that certainly is the pot calling the kettle black.
And NO, he does not have the same rights. You have the right to marry the person you love. He does not have the right to marry the person he loves.
Christianity and Islam are huge detriments to progress all over the planet.
Without it you wouldn't have the USA. So how does Christianity halt progress?
I'm tired of hearing this I'm 'proud' crap. How can you be 'proud' of just being something ? It sounds absurd if someone says I'm proud of being straight,or I'm proud of being 6ft tall. How the hell can you proud of something that you just are ??
“”The lord works in mysterious ways"""
he he he …
If a large percentage of the population wanted you to feel ashamed because you are 6ft tall, then perhaps you would feel differently. "Pride" events are held for that exact reason, whether it's gay pride, black pride, Irish pride, etc.
You DO HAVE the exact same rights as everyone else. I can't marry a gay partner, either. (But I don't want to). regardless – it's exactly the same rights as everyone else..
6.4% in youngsters. Makes me to assume the population is actually about 10%.
Which I have long expected.
"There are more of us than this. There are! There are! There are!"
Keepin' the indoctrination alive.
The LGBT community is laser focused on convincing everybody that ten percent of the population is gay, which I have long suspected to be a load of crap based on my own observations of friends, neighbors, and the community at large. I have always thought that to be an exaggerated figure designed to create a greater expediency toward accommodating the lifestyle. I am not surprised the figure is so much lower than the gay activist community wants everybody to believe.
Based on my friends and relatives, admittedly a small sample, 10% seems in the ballpark. It has to be higher than 6.4% as the number of people who would falsely self-report being gay today would be tiny.
Here is an idea....
....as straight people, we need to stay out of gay business...
...if we're not one, it does not concern us...we have NO say...
...then tell them to leave us alone and get out of our faces with their perversions,see its a two way street
You are the most sensible person that I've seen respond here! Nice job......
Yet 68.9% of all TV shows revolve around the life and antics of gay characters.
And 10% (I'm making this number up) of all movies are about the antics of gun-toting vigitantes. Doesn't mean 10% of the general population should be vigilante for this to make sense. It's about what sells.
And again...why should the schools explain to tolerate, etc just for 3% of the population/.....spend your time and money on maths instead
3% of 300 million americans is 9 million Americans. Or roughly one person out of every 33. The average classroom size is about 30-35 students. so that means in every class the chances are that for every class your child takes there will be an average of 1 student in that class that is gay.
Now this one person is the outsider. And if the rest of the kids and the teacher doesn't offer some tolerance. There is just going to be more trouble.
Why is it they own 80% of the issues bothering us from day to day then. This small group now define human rights???
When you judge another, you do not define them. You define yourself!!!
just keep telling yourself that,afterawhile you might believe it.
So why is it necessary to change the definition of marriage that has existed for thousands of years in order to accommodate such a small minority? Shouldn't this issue be put before a majority vote of the people? I've had several liberals tell me that they don't believe in majority rule (which leaves only government tyranny).
The entire concept of civil rights is based upon protecting the interests of those groups too small to protect themselves via popular vote.
Besides, if we only defer to the majority, hispanics will be calling the shots soon. How 'bout them apples?
You do realize that at one time "the majority" thought that blacks were inferior beings and didn't deserve equal rights and that women were not equal to men and didn't deserve to vote...
A lot of Republicans still believe it...just look at the "legitimate rape" comments, and most recently Joe Walsh (Republican congressman) saying that science has advanced so far that women don't die due to complications from child birth. And when they're called on it, they scream "liberal media bias" and people just reelect them without a second thought! Amazing!!!
Is that the same definition of marriage that allowed a man to marry multiple women, and adult to marry a child, and that banned people of different races from marrying.
The only ones that I have heard say and practice marriage with multiple wives and children are the followers of a spin of the mormons in Utah, Arizona and Britsh Columbia..no other group practices such violent doctrine.
BobPitt: Muslims in many countries can marry up to 4 wives.
Democracy is not fully realized by Majority rule alone, it realized by tempering Majority rule so that the Majority doesn't infringe on the rights of a small minority. This is long established in our country, and any decent civilization. The civil rights movement in the South would have never advanced to where it is today had the Majority gotten its way. The majority shouldn't be allowed to strip the rights of a minority group simply because they can out vote them–and we're not talking about anything other than equal treatment under the law, so don't try to pervert this into something it's not.
I can't wait to see what the haters do with these firgures. They'll probably claim that here's proof that when someone is better educated, they "choose" not to be gay. Maybe they'll increase the funds for education, so everyone can get a college degree and not be gay.
Let me be the first.
trust me – you do NOT fit the definition of "better educated" and "more intelligent"!
trailer trash.......... maybe
"There are more of us than this. There are! There are! There are!"
LOL
Why do you care so much? Women mutilate themselves all the time to have bigger breasts for some reason. It sure is not how nature made them.
Being gay is *not* like being left-handed. There is no gay gene despite all the attempts to find it.
Funny how Anne Heche said she never had a gay thought until she met Ellen. Fact. Oh, but that
doesn't fit into your little fairy-tale.
Being gay is a choice. Fact.
Being ignorant is also a choice. Fact.
you dont even relize how you sound... do u even know what that word means!?? your a retard just like gays
Why would anyone choose to live a life where about half of the population spit at you, and 20% of that half would not have a problem stoning you to death???!!!
Are you talking about women or gays??
Because one mixed up Hollywood actress said that, that makes it a "fact" that it's a choice? You do realize this is also the woman who claims she is a woman named "Celestia" from another planet, right?
Being left-handed isn't a gene ether, idi ot...
Go back to your bigot cave, loser.
So let me see if I understand this... a 3.4% minority of the population want to redefine marriage to something totally different than what the 96.6% majority of the population accept now as normal.
I don't mean to sound rude, but why doesn't the LGBT community leave marriage alone and go fight for their equal rights on a different platform, like changing the rules of civil unions which are already accepted in all the states? I think everyone would accept this.
The same thing was said about interracial marriage. How do you feel about that?
No problems with interracial. It's still one man and one woman as marriage is originally intended.
As originally intended by... whom? We are the masters of our domain and we can create our own rules. There are a lot of things that were "originally intended" that have gone by the wayside.
GOD thats who
Why do you give a DAMN about who someone wants to love or marry???
...it is NONE of your business...
Actually, over 60% of the population want to expand marriage rights so that 3.4% of the population aren't treated as subhuman and second-class citizens.
But keep telling yourself you're in the majority.
Have you seen the popular vote on this issue? Sure you want to stand by your false statistic there?
"which challenges common belief that large numbers of the community are white, male and wealthy."
Yes, because white wealthy gay men are clamoring to be identified as LGBT. This survey is pretty unscientific, I would argue people who are educated or well to do are probably in more positions of power , i.e. career concerns, family , friends, and therefore are more closeted, as they have far more to lose by "coming out" thusly they will not identify as LGBT.
Yes, there are many white gay men, but I was most surprised to find that white men were actually the lowest rate in the racial breakdown. I would have expected parity.
If you check the closet you will probably find a reversed racial make up.
It is because so many minorities are unemployed. They are doing it "on the down low." Idle hands are the devil's workshop.
Very true...most of the people I know that admit to being gay, but not openly gay, are wealthy white males that are very successful and who pay more taxes because they are single.
So less than 4% of the population gets to redefine "marriage." Gee, that make sense.
You forget that more than 50% of the population agree with gay marriage, so it is not 4% tweaking the definition.
BTW, if you know anything about statistics and people it is quite clear that the LGBT population is certainly above 6.4% which is far more gays than Asians in this country. Better get used to it since they aren't going to hide from you anymore.
Keep telling yourself there are more of them than there really are. Whatever.
Ron, polls and studies have repeatedly found that the percentage is above 50%. What non-anecdotal evidence do you have to counter that data?
No, it means that only a portion of that small amount want to participate in marriage, not redefine it.
it's hardly scientific...120,000 out of over 300 million? it's less than 0.0004 of the total population. just because it said it was the biggest study ever done doesn't necessarily mean much. YMMV.
it's known as sampling and it is a very effective technique. You may have heard of it... In fact, if you don't believe in it, next time when your doctor tells you to have a blood test, tell the doctor to take ALL of your blood just so that they're certain they do a complete analysis....
Ron, it's not redefining for 96% it's just including the 4% with same legal rights the "marriage" under the law allows. BTW, civil unions aren't accepted in all states or even between states. They provide very little actual benefit unlike federal level laws would.
Unless you ask every single American man, woman, and child you will never get an accurate percentage and even if you ask every man, woman, and child you still won't get it right because some people choose not to say
Plus, some men and women do not believe they fit in LBGT or straight. So are inbetween the lines...
Even if you did, you still wouldn't get an accurate measure. I highly doubt the validity of this study , if Kensey, a scientist who extensively studied the subject found that about 10% of the population could be classified as gay, and he did his studies in a far more conservative time, how could this study in a far more liberal time have numbers that are so much lower??????
There is a dependency on data collection techniques. If they only called people on the phone as opposed to sending out surveys, perhaps they were only able to use landline phone number directories to pull random samples, and it is possible that they had no methodology to correctly sample people who use cell phones. Lots of people today do not have landline phones, especially people who are fairly well versed in hi-tech. This was not an issue for Kinsey 40-50 years ago.
3.4% ? Yeah right lol.. well throw in the ones who keep it quiet and that number jumps up to probably 15%.. I mean really who doesn't want to be fabulous.
are your numbers based on facts or feelings?
Being gay is like being left-handed. Are people born left-handed? Who knows, who cares? The point is that people don’t choose to be left handed. It’s just part of who you are.
So here’s a poll that says 3 times as many young people are gay as old people. This seems wrong. People don’t become un-gay as they grow older. A more plausible explanation: Older people are less likely to admit they’re gay.
There may be similar polling issues with other demographics.
And of course left-handed people used to be seriously discriminated against. Any difference seems to be a good enough excuse.
Markin, it's a good case study... many left-handed people were scolded and forced to write with their right hands in school. They learned to write that way but it didn't make them stop being left-handed.
In the movie King's Speech, they reveal the King was forcibly changed into writing with his right hand. He started stuttering soon thereafter. Apparently, this is not uncommon.
Thank goodness the percentage isn't higher.
Bend over and I'll change your mind.
Why would it matter? Do they affect you? If you're right-handed, does the fact that someone else is left-handed affect you?
I don't find this earth-shattering. Older LGBT grew up in a world where you stayed closeted, and may still be reluctant to identify. "Educated" LGBT may have the kind of jobs where it is still not safe to be out. The stigma of being a gay woman ins't quite as oppressive as it is for gay men. Cultural perceptions are that Republicans are resistant to gay rights, hence the propensity toward Democrat. The race thing I can't explain, but I'm not certain 4.6% vs. 4.3% vs. 4% vs 3.2% is significant. No real suprises here, but thanks for the effort. Signed, a middle-aged, white, educated, Republican gay woman. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.
I'm leaning toward the idea that a racial minority may be more used to life as a repressed minority that has had to fight for recognition (without the option to hide it) and may just be more willing to self-identify as a member of another minority. Seems rather brave to me considering the considerable anti-gay feelings among some minorities.
wow this report doesnt sound like the african american propaganda from the 20's-60's.
Stereotyping LGBT as dumb ethnic people is absurd and horribly flawed.
Perhaps I am reading this survey incorrectly, but if 4.0% of people identifying as LGBT are "some college but no degree", then the statement, "The new survey showed LGBT identification is highest among Americans with the lowest levels of education... of those with a high school education or less, 3.5% identify as LGBT", is incorrect.
Additionally, I find it odd that the poll seperates levels of higher education (making them appear smaller, perhaps intentionally), so we are unable to actually compare percentages of higher education with percentages of lower education.
I only point this out due to the implication-made in both the article and the comments thta followed-that those who identify as LGBT are uneducated. Further, the article does not provide the number of participants in each sample; if this was a non representative sample, the results are not valid. If the study has validity issues, then all the results need to be questioned. Was the ratio of "non whites" in this study proportional to the population? Age and gender must also be propotional for a reliable populaton generalization.
Finally, I'm proud to be a straight ally to the LGTB community and I feel sorry for the pathetic creatures who aren't.
indeed, this looks like the same tactics used on african americans, to say that they are uneducated and dont deserve equality, i smell a pandering religious rat paying someone to make up numbers.
I absolutely agree. The bogus results are riddled with discrimination. It's repulsive.
Also, remember that this is a survey to measure who is willing to self-identify as gay, it does not actually measure who is gay. That is a big difference. Notice that certain groups are just more willing to acknowledge it. If you looked at young people no matter race or socioeconomic status they were the most likely at 6.4% probably simply because they do not perceive the same stigma and have not been hiding it for decades.
Also racial minorities are possibly slightly less averse to being identified as a member of a repressed minority since they already identified as a member of another one.
I would love to know where these respondents are from. To try and conduct a mainstream poll about this is ludicrous, especially since many LGBT people are closeted for a wide variety of reasons, unfortunately. The stigma attached to admitting that you are gay can be life changing, such as teens becoming homeless, families disowning you, friends having a worried reaction that you are attracted to them, loosing your job, and the list goes on. Before conducting a 'poll" about this topic, we better do a better job of making this community feel a part of society instead of ostracized. Once there isn't discrimination and people feel free to be who they really are, then a survey like this could be accurate. I've long worked in organizations all over the country relating to the LGBT community and these "stats" are not representative at all with reality. I've always felt that Gallup polls are grossly off-base, now I know they are.
The real total is probably a little over 4% so this is pretty good getting a 3.4% response.
.
Ummm, unless you are in denial you can clearly see by the data that it is almost certainly over 6.4%
The most representative population is the "young" crowd". It is diverse racially and socioeconomically and also the one most likely to not be self-denial AND the most likely to admit it.
And since many people still will not admit it to others, that number is definitely low.
Remember, this poll only identifies who is willing to identify themselves, it does not actually count the number or proportion of LGBT residents.
"Of those with a high school education or less, 3.5% identify as LGBT compared with 2.8% of those with a college degree and 3.2% of those with post-graduate education. LGBT identification is highest among those with some college education but not a college degree, at 4.0%"
This could be a survey flaw. Since the survey was of people 18 years and older, anyone aged 18-22 or so, the highest self-identifying group, would be "no college" or "some college" anyway, which would skew results somewhat toward "less educated". Gallup would have to reanalyze the existing data for people above age 24 or so.
"non-whites are more likely to identify themselves as LGBT than whites"
Again, immigration trends skew this significantly. Our high schools in this area are nearly half asian, so whether it's non-whites or younger people is a tough call.
On the other hand, college rates have soared in this country over the decades. Older Americans are less likely to have gone to college and so that would skew results ther way.
I'm not sure if the low non-whites is a survey error. It might be a social issue: Other racial minorities have had to deal with the fact that they're minorities already. Identifying themselves as LGBT might be easier for them to do because they're used to that idea of being in a minority group already. Whites, however, are not a minority group (not yet!) and accepting the idea that they're different from the status quo is probably more difficult.
Very interesting point – you may be right about that.
Most people are bi. It's okay to admit it
Clarissa, So true. Since I have been out as openly bi, I cant believe how many friends and family I have discovered are the same way.
This country was built on the ideals of freedom and equality and yet we so easily deny it to a group of people because they're "weird" or "gross".
Sorry, our rights were DESIGNED to protect speech and ideals and ways of life that fall within a minority. The majority never need protection, only to be prevented from oppressing the minority.
Maybe you should go to the Will Cain article and tell your friends that Republicans have a right to be professors also...being that they are in the minority and encountering bias in the work place.
Oh ya, that must suck to have a system that is biased against something you believe in. Interesting. I looked but I couldn't find anything written anywhere that said republicans can't be professors. Also, being able to become a professor isn't a right. I have had very few, republican professors. It seems to me that the reason there aren't more is because an extensive education doesn't exactly jive well with republican or conservative ideology, be it economic policy, social policy, foreign policy...the list goes on.
Those that can't do.....teach. That's why academics are liberals.
Those who can't teach are Politicians
Loki, I'm not sure if that's really where you wanted to go. Those who can't do, teach? Are you implying that teachers aren't important? Are you saying that educating people isn't a worthwhile endeavor? Maybe you should ask the rest of the developed world about the importance of education. Like I said before, maybe the reason there are so few conservative or republican academics is because its hard to make republican and conservative ideology jive with an advanced education.
wonderfully worded. So if 60 percent of the population decided it's "okay" to kill Jewish people again, we should? That's the flaw I see with some of these comments about "changing the laws for only 4% of the population." Right and wrong don't require a majority.
The courts have been working overtime to clean up the mess a generation of Republicans have left behind.
Most of them were Scout Masters and Priests at one point.....with the occasional Coach.
Sorry, but that's both incorrect and perpetuates a negative stereotype. Please don't use the anonymity of a comments section to publicize opinions based on no facts.
Oh. I'm sorry for using a liberal tactic.
lol, awesome come back. Rather than make an argument you just say, like a 2 year old, "they do it too!!!"
Again, please do not paint a whole group of people with a broad brush. It does nothing to help us listen to each other, and it will not convince anyone who is part of the group you've identified to change their position.
Well lets see,do they want equality or is it minority status that their looking for ???
Either way,what they do is an abhorration to society.
Live and let live. How difficult is that?
Why can't I be naked in public? Live and let live!
lol, and why is that exactly?
First of all – abhorration isn't a word. Secondly, even if it was a word, it doesn't make sense in the sentence (based on what abhor means). Nice try though, now crawl back under your rock. IDIOT.
You misused the comma after your "though". It should have been a period and then you should have began a new sentence. Don't correct someone else's grammar and then make a mistake of your own. IDIOT.
Nice try Bill. My grammar is just fine. Happy Friday!
You shouldn't capitalize every word in idiot.
better get your dictionary out baby because it is a word even though I may have misspelled it.
It's hard to look up a work in the dictionary when it's so horribly misspelled. Anyway, I think you were looking for the word "aberration."
That's like me saying people who can't spell long words are an aberration to society.
They are an embarrassment to our great country. I respect the ones that do not make it a point to "identify" themselves as quëers. Their fetishes or sëxùal preference doesn't need to be shared with anyone....nor should they receive any special rights for it.
Special? How about equal. Or fair, or just, or reasonable. Those would be nice.
They already get equal treatment.
I'm not really interested in Iran's opinion, but if we're talking about the civilized world, YOU are the embarrassment.
what's it like to be as ignorant as you are? we are all created equal!
CREATED equal, yes. It's what we do after that which makes us not equal.
Vinny, If the LBGT community in this country is an embarrassment, then suggest hate-mongers like you join us. Those that cannot tolerate others when this country was founded on respecting the rights of others should be equally embarrassed.
Vinny – YOU are an embarassment to our country. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we can only be as good as the weakest member of our society. Way to help us compete for the bottom.
Jen, cracked up when I read that.
brush your teeth jen,smells like fish
Vinny, you need to travel abroad to another developed nation. If you really think that the LGBT community makes the United States look bad you are way off the mark. Seriously. The rest of the world craps on us because of our foreign policy, social policies, our energy policy, how wasteful we are, our failing schools, the inability of our government to get anything done. Yes they do talk about our social policy as it relates to LGBT people, but in other developed nations, they talk about it because they don't understand why our's is so abysmal.
Wow you are something! I am a 32 yo straight woman. I do not care what anyone else does with there life and who they love. You are probably just fat and single that can't find anyone to love. GET A LIFE. Sorry for being rude but you were being VERY OFFENSIVE TOO!
This survey does not measure the number or proportion of LGBT residents in this country. It measures who is willing to self identify. Notice that the younger people are the most willing possibly/probably due to a modern reduction in the stigma. Also interesting is that those that are already a member of a minority that is frequently the subject of bigotry are also more willing to self identify as a member of a repressed minority.
It would seem, based upon the numbers from the most diverse group, the young, that the prevalence of ho.mos.exuality in our society is somewhat higher than 6.4%. Which means that there are far more h.omose.xuals than Asians living here.
I think its time some people get used to it already.
I agree. It is an estimate, at best, based on self-identification.
Yes, that's an important distinction! They weren't drawing conclusions about actual numbers of people who are LGBT in this country; the only conclusion they could possibly draw was the number of people who were willing to self-identify as LGBT in a phone survey. In addition, if you look at their polling methods, they weighted their calls approximately 40% cell phone and 60% landline. That may have implications for who responded to the survey in the first place.
Doing this type of survey over the phone wasn't a good idea. If I wasn't out and someone called me asking if I was LGBT for a survey, I would think it's someone playing a joke to have me come out. Plus I rarely answer my cell if it's an unknown number.
The 3.4% average is meaningless. If 6.4% of young people willingly self-identify (but only 1.9% of older people) the actual number of LGBT is certainly somewhat higher than 6.4% – the difference being that the older folks feel a stronger stigma about it, and the younger ones less so. All scientific evidence points to orientation as being innate and not a personal choice, so the percentage among age groups (and throughout history) have probably been fairly constant.
"found that the highest percentages of LGBT identification occurred among non-white, younger and less educated Americans."
Interesting you can replace [LGBT identification] with [unemployed]. Wow. That pretty much says it all...
There's no significance there other than it fits nicely with your biased narrative.
So 3.4% of population are terrorizing rest of 96.6%.
Just like Palestine.
You live in fear of gays? Weird. Maybe its just your personal fantasies that have you confused.
LGBT people have the disease of sin.
Kelly, everyone is born with sin. What was it the Bible said about judging..? Besides, we don't live in a theocracy; you can't legislate against sin.
When is the last time you got bombed by an LGBT person? Or even physically threatened by one? This is another dangerous generalization. Regardless of your feelings about the subject, there is no logical connection between LGBT people and terrorists or Palestine.
Oh goodness, you poor thing. Please tell me some stories of how your quality of life has declined as a result of people asking for equal rights. Perhaps you were tired at work one day because you had a nightmare about gay people asking for protection from being fired because they're gay and you couldn't get back to sleep. That must have been hard for you. Or even worse, maybe you had to explain to a confused young child why it should be acceptable to kick someone out of their home for being gay. Whoa that would be awkward for you! Let me tell you this, I do hope you are that distracted by my community asking for rights. I hope that you think about it constantly and that it does keep you up at night, because not having them does the same thing to us. Maybe if you and many others realized that we are people who aren't really asking for much, and move forward, everyone would sleep a lot easier.
Dave – this was a great reply! Keep up the good fight.
Kudos Dave!
Thanks
much love.
I'm in your corner Dave...always. I won't sleep well until everyone can enjoy the same benefits and joy that I found when I got to marry my husband and start my family.
LOL, terrorizing you.......how exactly????
Seriously? I guess those of us in the LBGT community have more power than we thought if we're now being considered terrorists. What a ridiculous statement.
If you think gay people are terrorizing you by the mean fact they exist and were born, than I would love to live in your world. For the rest of us it's pretty much a non-point and there are MANY MANY other things to worry about on this planet than the fact your neighbor might have been born a gay person.
So 3.4% of the population are dictating what the rest of us are supposed to accept as perfectly normal behavior?
They are not asking you to be gay any more than civil rights activists of the 1960s were asking you to be black. Just full for full equality.
Equating gay rights to Civil Rights is ignorant. By putting gay rights in the same ball park as Civil Rights you have diminished what Civil Rights was/is about and what so many fought for throughout the history of the U.S. African American people do not choose to be black whereas gay people choose to be gay. See the difference?
Your determination that being gay is a choice is far more ignorant. So many people, myself included, would have chosen anything but being gay, especially after 12 years of religion classes that told me I was going to hell. Yet here I am.
Nobody cares if you accept it, they just want you people to stop oppressing them.
Mike, I frankly could care less what you accept. But don't oppress others in the process.
"Gallup interviewed 120,000 Americans and found that the highest percentages of LGBT identification occurred among non-white, younger and less educated Americans".
Oh NOOOOO. Liberals keep saying that they are the party of educated intellectuals.... Guess not. The people posting negative comments on the Will Cane piece should read this article. HA.
it is actually because people like you bully the kids out of school, therefore they are less educated.
Haha bullying people out of school? People have the option to stand up for themselves, but I guess liberal households don't believe in confrontation or violence for that matter. Quit being a wimp. The U.S. owes you nothing, I owe you nothing, my neighbors owe you nothing. You and people with like-minded values or thoughts are the reason that this country is suffering.
Wow Jay, its you that are wrong. Every other 1st world country has the values of making sure their neighbour is as healthy, safe as they are. The USA is the own country that is dog eat dog. Sure it worked economically for the USA for a while and now we see what we have because of it. The US has more murders then all 20 first world countries combine at 1st world 5,344 the US 12,996 for 2011. All have some sort of Universal health care, which is shown to cost less then private insurance based health care. Hatered is why the US is the way it is. Not gays, blacks, natives, Christians or Muslims, its hate plain and simple. You are scared of change as you think it will some how affect your ability to do something. Remember, the church is run by the gay community. The church has been a hidding place for those how are gay and need to have a vow to not do something and they stand in front of you a preach the word that you follow and spew your hatered. Hypocrate.
Wow Jay, its you that are wrong. Every other 1st world country has the values of making sure their neighbour is as healthy, safe as they are. The USA is the own country that is dog eat dog. Sure it worked economically for the USA for a while and now we see what we have because of it. The US has more murders then all 20 first world countries combine at 1st world 5,344 the US 12,996 for 2011. All have some sort of Universal health care, which is shown to cost less then private insurance based health care. Hatered is why the US is the way it is. Not gays, blacks, natives, Christians or Muslims, its hate plain and simple. You are scared of change as you think it will some how affect your ability to do something. Remember, the church is run by the gay community. The church has been a hidding place for those how are gay and need to have a vow to not do something and they stand in front of you a preach the word that you follow and spew your hatered.
DBAN – At least we don't shoot young girls for trying to get an education!
Of course. That's it. They were bullied out of school. That's what psychotics always say... It's someone else's fault.
I just got through doing some research on access to health care. While the studies weren't trying to ascertain who was better educated, in those studies where education was determined the partnered gay couples were better educated as a group than their counterparts in traditional marriages. Invariably so. That may or may not mean something, but I certainly got the impression that it did.
Straight kids who are perceived as gay are also bullied tremendously, especially in faith-based private schools.
Yes, that's actually sound logic. Repression and oppression are some reasons why people don't go to school or seek higher education. LGBT People are pushed down by their society and so some of them do things their straight peers wouldn't do, or do them for different reasons, such as alcohol, drug use, etc. It has long been know that repression decreases the likelihood of higher education.
So many false conclusions people are making to fit their narratives... so the 3.4% that self-identify as LGBT are, on average, nonwhite and are less educated than the average citizen. Is that supposed to speak for everyone you consider to be 'Liberal'? Get a grip. An equally fair narrative would be to say that LGBT people should be conservative like the rest of the uneducated south.
And yet...the highest educated group of people in the U.S. is gay men, followed by lesbian women. I've often thought that this is what really bugs rightist xtian white trash more than you we love.