3.4% of Americans identify as LGBT
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.
Black voters support Obama, but warily
By Jim Roope, CNN
(CNN) - “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
That commonly-asked question of modern presidential elections is being answered in the negative by some African-Americans.
“The last four years for me, have been difficult. They’ve been hard," said Angela Collins, a mother of six. She has a 12-year-old and a 16 year-old still at home, two more kids in college and two grown kids out on their own.
Collins is a hairdresser at a salon called, Hairitage, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Inglewood. Collins' business is also way down and she says her family has had to cut back to bare necessities.
She says she’s disappointed that President Obama did not deliver on many of his promises to improve the economy and education.
Still, African-American support of Obama is at 90%.
About In America
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.
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