|
Poll majority: Gays' orientation can't change
POSTED: 6:28 a.m. EDT, June 27, 2007
Story Highlights
•(CNN) -- A majority of Americans believe that gays and lesbians could not change their sexual orientation even if they wanted to, according to results of a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday.
It's the first time in a CNN poll the majority has held that belief regarding homosexuality.
Fifty-six percent of about 515 poll respondents said they do not believe sexual orientation can be changed. In 2001, 45 percent of those responding to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll held that belief. In 1998, according to a CNN/Time poll, the number was 36 percent. In addition, 42 percent of respondents to the current poll said they believe homosexuality results from upbringing and environment, while 39 percent said they believe it is something a person is born with -- a close division that reflects the national debate over the issue.
However, those numbers are greatly changed from the 1970s and '80s, in which fewer than 20 percent of Americans said a person is born homosexual. In a 1977 poll, the number was 13 percent. Ten percent in the latest poll said they believe both factors play a role in someone's homosexuality. Three percent said neither, and 6 percent had no opinion. The sampling error for the results released Wednesday, in which the question was asked of a half-sample of 1,029 telephone poll respondents, is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday. In a poll conducted May 4-6 that dealt with other issues regarding homosexuality, participants were asked whether openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, which currently has a "don't ask-don't tell" policy on homosexuality. Seventy-nine percent of poll respondents said openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military. Eighteen percent said they should not. On the question of gay marriage, 43 percent of respondents in May said they would not support same-sex marriage or civil unions, which provide many, if not most, of the same legal protections as marriage. Twenty-four percent said they supported same-sex marriage, while 27 percent opted for civil unions. But a majority of poll respondents -- 57 percent -- said gay and lesbian couples should have the legal right to adopt children. Forty percent said they should not. The sampling error for those questions was plus or minus 3 percentage points. |
|
|
|
The Only Question That Matters: Do People Choose Their Sexual Orientation?
Noted author Chandler Burr has written a new white paper for the Liberty Education Fourm. Burr's white paper clearly demonstrates that we already know the answer to this question--people don't choose their sexual orientation. This has important political implications and it's a powerfull tool for achieving equality. Click here to read this new report. |
|
Quotable Quotes |
Richmond Times-Dispatch Friday, February 17, 2006 Barry Goldwater, speaking in 1981: "I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that, if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, or D . . . .I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate." |
|
Membership |
|
Join Virginia Log Cabin and help us build a broader party!
|
|
