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DEMOGRAPHICS

Which State Has the Largest Percentage of LGBT People in America?

A new study is the first to track that population state by state

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by Lisa Fine

Staff Writer t

Image: AP

A groundbreaking new Gallup study tracking the percentage of adults who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender by state shows populations range from a low of 1.7 percent in North Dakota to a high of ten percent in Washington D.C.

With the exception of D.C., all states are within two percentage points of the 3.5 percent national average. Hawaii had the second largest population with 5.1 percent identifying themselves as LGBT.

Not surprisingly, states with higher LGBT percentages tend to be more liberal and have more supportive legal climates that ban discrimination and allow civil unions or marriage for same-sex couples. Meanwhile, the states with lower percentages of LGBT are generally the most conservative, the study said.

Researchers pointed out it was the largest study of the distribution of the LGBT population in the U.S. and the first to offer estimates of the LGBT population by state.

Via Gallup
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Why do liberal states have higher LGBT percentages?

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Comments (view in Forum)

  • stepped_in_it
    !
    HMMM.....Could it be something to do with religious beliefs? Liberals (though not all) seem to be more atheist or agnostics. Conservatives are more religious believers. And their (fictitious) god, by god, will smote those LGBT's and send them straight to (fictitious) hell......by god! Now, I'm not judging anyone here, be they christian, LGBT, conservative or liberal because I once heard a good saying from a reasonably written (fictitious) book.......Judge not lest ye be judged (or something like that)!
  • stepped_in_it
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    @zachsquatch HMMM....sounds like someone doesn't have a clue......state i reside in is RED as RED can be....as for me...INDEPENDENT as INDEPENDENT can be. Don't care if you're "out of the closet" liberal or "in the closet" conservative.....unlike you two fractions, I keep my nose in my own business!!
  • zachsquatch
    !
    I'm playing. I love you. I loved listening to your radio show at night while I was in High School, you always played the hits that went closest to the heart.
  • frigginhell
    !
    Don't blame religion and conservatism as if they're really the same thing. They keep wanting to put up the ten commandments and make it illegal for gays to marry. I've read the ten commandments. There's one on their about adultery but not one about homosexuality. Yes the bible mentions both as sin but one is mentioned far more and just conveniently glossed over constantly. Not that it matters. I don't need a bronze age war god to help me feel better about the sun coming up because I think it gets eaten by a dragon or some crap.
  • View all 12 replies >
  • u
    culinary
    !
    I think its time for EVERYONE to be more tolerant of this population. I, personally, would not choose to be gay, but to each his own. You can't just pick and choose who to accept. They are people and citizens of the US and deserve the same rights.
  • Arumizy
    !
    My problem with the LGBT community has more to do with them trying to force their lifestyle onto others and not so much what they do in the privacy of their own home. That said, keeping it into the privacy of their own home would do a lot for their cause, instead of trying to force it down everyones throat and force others to accommodate for them.
  • View all 76 replies >
  • u
    Chromalord
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    Yeah, because there arent any gay republicans, or pedophiles in the catholic church either. Asian women make the best drivers, asian men are the most well-endowed, jews are typically bad with money, all lawyers are honest, the holocaust never happened, we never landed on the moon, global warming is a hoax, GOP believes in equality for all, blacks never make noise in theaters, the NBA is primarily white, people choose to live in poverty, professional wrestling and NASAR is really high-brow, hunters only kill for food, Ted Nugent is a really cool guy, Mitch McConnell puts people before politics, John Boehner has never cried, Mormon beliefs are based on reality, Rap is music, Sara Palin is a Harvard Grad, Bush W never drank alcohol or did cocaine, Clinton didnt inhale, Anne Coulter is the voice of reason, Rush Limbaugh is secretly a democrat, FOX news only presents unbiased facts, Elvis and Michael Jackson are still alive, Trump will remove his name off of everything, the GOP isnt at all upset that a black man beat them twice.
  • PoliticalSpice
    !
    More likely the result of so many in the closet republicans: pedophile foley of florida; larry "i'm not gay" craige of idaho, etc.
  • View all 30 replies >
  • Keyjo
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    I always question statistics, especially concerning bisexuals. Dr. Freud concluded that bisexuality is the human norm.
    Oregon is fairly liberal,(I call it liberal redneck!) Most of the dudes I have dated here consider themselves to be "straight!"
    For some reason the always amorous farm boys reason that you aren't Gay as long as you don't kiss! The proverbial, "S**k Me, f**k me, but don't kiss me, I'm straight!" Yeah, I think liberal state boys are more likely to fess up than conservative state boys, but there are still a lot of dudes everywhere who keep it "down low," for fear their girlfriend's, wives, families will know.
    Then there's always that one very special bromance, that exceptional brokeback, exclusive buddy that so many guys have, usually during junior high, high school, college or in the military.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Years ago I used to post on craigslist for casual encouters with woman. Most responses were from men. When I would write back and say it was for women, and why would they bother me with san fransisco having so many gay guys, they would write back insisting they were straight. Not bi or gay, but straight. I never could figure it out. Sounds like what you are saying here.
  • stepped_in_it
    !
    "Then there's always that one very special bromance, that exceptional brokeback, exclusive buddy that so many guys have, usually during junior high, high school, college or in the military."
    HMMM.....never had one of those. Did I miss out on something in my youth? ;-)
  • Keyjo
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    @PoliticalSpice
    There is a category, "men who have sex with men!" I swear, it's a psychological category right along with heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual. I think it's guys who do it purely for the sex. They don't check out other guys, there is no particular physical attraction, they just do it for the physical sex. That's as near as I can figure, even Dr. Drew is a bit dumbfounded by that fourth, newest classification!
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Keyjo What organization created this catagory. I would think this would fit in well with bi (no pun intended), how is it a different catagory? What do I not understand about it?
  • View all 17 replies >
  • texas_cutie75
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    The LGBT conmunity is largely liberal, this is a no brainer. They are told its a sin and all that. Liberals are not as close to their faith as conservatives are. Can someone tell me when D.C. became a state?...lol
  • PoliticalSpice
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    Conservatives are much closer to their faith then liberals. Except for that one commie-hippie. Believed in healing the sick for free, gave bread and fish to the hungry. Protested against merchants and money lenders. Recited hippie poetry calling peacemakers children of god. What was his name?
  • u
    crusader
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    @PoliticalSpice Actually those are conservative ideas. As the bread and fish was freely given not government mandatated charity. The merchants and moneylenders were corrrupt. Conservative christian organizations are the biggest non government organizations that send food and medicine to third world countries. How many food banks are operated by large churches, which by defintion is conservative. Charity for the need is a christian conservative principles. I would compare the Biblical provisions for the poor with the work programs set up by Roosevelt during the depression. Look up the description of gleaning the fields in the book of Ruth. The current government mandates that allows people to live and never even attempt to work to earn a living is a more liberal policy.
  • View all 11 replies >
  • Speedieg
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    First of all these stats are based on people when asked identified as gay or lesbian. This is not a good way to determine the size of the population. Most gays will not openly admit to strangers that they are gay as such an admission can effect their safety, their employment or other. This is particularly true in the hate states where there are large republican majorities and gays face active discrimination and open hatred.
  • u
    WeTheSheeple
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    So the actual percentage is at least 10% just as we've always said.

    The majority of gays & lesbians will not identify as such to a total stranger especially in conservative states or rural areas.
  • harold_lloyd
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    How about if I don't care.

    I find that in my day to day functioning, the sexual orientation of the people with whom I come into contact doesn't usually come up and isn't a factor.

    "Before I buy this bag of chips, are you gay, or what?"

    It seems silly to me.
  • u
    commonsense51
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    Whenever you give certain groups special media coverage, lifting up their voices to supposed discrimination, blanketing the air waves, you will always see higher experimentation with whatever orientation is being given special treatment. No surprises they have higher populations of Gays in the states where the media indoctrinates our youth. I'm for an America that is color blind, and sexually oriented blind. I don't care what some person does in the privacy of their homes and I don't want to be bombarded with talk about who or what somebody is. I don't want to hear if they are Straight or Gay and I believe no group deserves constant mention. Keep our sex lives to ourselves and stop pushing it down our throats. TV shows like What not to wear, need not tell us how the person is Transgender. Why do they purposely find these small percentage of people and push their orientation? As with all things I believe it is a deliberate attempt to lift up the ab normal to further their anything goes culture. These orientations are not the norm and need not be thrown into the faces of our kids going through puberty, wondering who they are if they should ever have some thought in their head about the same sex, etc. Quit pushing your Liberal agendas of a Godless culture with no norms or moral standards. I agree that all people should be treated with respect & equal rights but that does not mean they deserve the changing of our marriage laws etc.
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