That is the conclusion of this article, which analyzes two U. S. government surveys.
The number of same-sex couples that identified themselves as such has increased 30% in just five years, a period which saw the general population grow 6%. Interestingly, some of the larger jumps were in the Midwest, especially Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The survey also suggests that the push to outlaw same-sex marriage is encouraging GLBT couples to emerge from the closet to stand up and be counted. Six of the eight states with an anti-gay marriage initiative on this year's ballot -- Arizona, Colorado, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin -- saw rate jumps higher than the 30 percent national average.
A New York Times poll cited in this article showed that the understanding of what homosexuality is truly about is increasing. The poll showed that 53% of respondents thought that people do NOT chose to be gay, up from 43% in 1993. Also, the percentage of those who believe homosexuality is morally wrong has plummeted to 37%, down from 55% in 1993.
My conclusion from this data is that, eventually, ignorance allways loses.
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I completely understand this phenomenon. I myself feel more inclined to come out to people as a result of the right wing lies and half truths that are being propogated across the country.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!
Alabama re-banned gay marriage in June, and I've observed that the gay community here is becoming more active and outspoken. There has always been a group that was willing to fund AIDS organizations and other charities but didn't want to dirty its collective hands with politics. Those of us (gay and straight) who were working for change found that very frustrating. But those folks are coming around now.
ReplyDeleteFor a while, I have been getting disgusted with the complacency and lack of brotherhood in the gay community around my area. It's as if we were willing to simply settle for the lukewarm reception of the Will & Grace stereotype within our culture. What happened since the 80s-era borderline-militant activism??? At the very least, I am heartened to see this data come forth. It seems that tough times tend to galvanize people and mobilize them to fight for what they believe in despite a seemingly overwhelming enemy which misleads it's followers under a false pretense of Godliness.
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