As I have already said, we are talking about millions of people regardless of whether the number is three percent or ten, and the injustice of discrimination does not change either way. So why are you debating this? What are you trying to prove?

Did you scroll down further than the first few pages of that Hunter College study? Because an executive summary customarily does not provide annotations; it summarizes information that appears later within the document, and the main body of a report is where you’ll find all the footnotes. But judging by how resistant you are to accept any number less than ten percent, I doubt a footnote would make any difference to you.

And between the two of us, at least I provided evidence for my claim. You have not. All you have done is referred to the Kinsey report and your many, many, many sexual partners in the ’70s. If you want to prove something, you have to rely on more than personal anecdotes and sixty-year-old data.

As for the emoticon…lighten up.

There is. The study the the right wing loves to try and discredit. Kinsey’s.

The CDC figures from 2005 show 2.3% of men and 1.3% of women identify as gay and another 1.8% of men and 2.8% of women identify as bisexual (4.1% gay or bi for both).

While I think these numbers are likely to underrepresent the true number of persons solely or primarily attracted to the same sex, they give us a starting place from which to work.

Anecdotes from ones own life may shade the way in which each of us view the world around us, but they are not a good basis from which to make definitive statements.

Until there is better research, I’ll not be accepting your estimates of more than 10%.

I looked at the PDF the demographic statistic appears as an assertion with out foot note.

FYI many people who are gay do not identify as gay even when busted in their knees in a restroom reaching for the vice cop’s dick.

As a lesbian who lived a sort of Shane lifestyle for half of the 1970s I can attest to triple digits figures of straight women who enjoyed a “lesbian experience” with me until I finally got bored with that scene.

Don’t worry, I’m neither a right-winger nor a Christofascist. It’s funny how people always think that when you present any figure less than ten percent ;-)

A 2008 study done by Hunter College and funded by the Human Rights Campaign found that “approximately 2.9% of the U.S. adult population consider themselves gay, lesbian, or bisexual.”

http://www.hrc.org/documents/Hunter_College_Report.pdf

Of course, we can argue over what “consider themselves” really means, and we can figure in the number of people who are closeted, deny their sexuality for whatever reason, and/or responded dishonestly in the study.

But regardless of whether the figure is three percent or ten percent, we’re still talking about millions of people, and discrimination is always wrong no matter how many people it affects. So I try not to get hung up on numbers.

Alex

In my experience that figure is the one touted by right wingers and Christofascist peddlers of reparative therapy.

Generally speaking the figure is 10% for gay men. 5% lesbian. With some 20% of both men and women having bisexual experiences.

Among Transvestite or Transgender the figure is in the range of 1-2% and Transsexual 1 in 1000 people.

Now there is no doubt overlap of communities here but I think when we are talking LGBT/T 10% is possibly quite low.

As for out people and missing percentages closet cases in the Republican Party and among Evangelicals probably make those figures even higher.

Have a nice day, y’all.

Woman Rebel

I’m a Democrat. Under no circumstances could I possibly vote for a Republican — ever!

To0day both parties are well to the right of the nation. Both are “corporatists”. Neither lives up to the spirit of our past, of our founding documents.

Since I’m about to be 70 in a couple of months, my views may be very different from those who have never experienced the real freedom we once had.

LGBT rights are a very simple issue – treat all citizens as human. Treat all equally. Recognize how silly it is to kill , maim, harm, someone for who they love, who they sleep with. It does not affect your life — why obsess over it?

I voted for Obama simply because he was the better choice. He has made statements about equality, about gay righta, about bringing all to the table. His actions have been less inclusive. He’s seems determined to include those already included.

I’m far from a one issue person. As an example, I very strongly support the 2nd Amendment, and Obama is not the ideal candidate when looking at the issue of guns.

At the same time, MY rights as a CITIZEN have never been fully realized. I’ve been through some difficult times, having been attacked, etc. over the years. All I’m looking for is what everyone else already has.

I’m almost afraid to ask, but did you vote for Obama just because he was the more gay-friendly candidate?

It was not the first protest — there had been others out on the West coast — but it was the one that stuck. It was time.

Since then we’ve all moved forward.

Now, we are sliding back, we’ve got something to lose, we’ve become “gradualists” (AKA: “Uncle Toms”).

The fight for our rights is only important to us. It would be a fairly easy thing to implemrt — and would not take away from anything else.

Simple, easy, and not about to happen.

To a segment of the population we are the new ni***rs, to others we take the place of their hated “Jews” (after all, they HAVE to support Israel). We’re an easy sell. There aren’t that many of us — and a lot are hiding in one or another closet.

You know we are a lot more than 3% of the population, even if you don’t count all of the terrified.

If we will not fight for our own rights — who will?

Those who fought back at Stonewall, no matter the fact they were among the truly disenfranchised, have shown us all the truth of fighting back.

If you are not important to you — who will you be important to?