Gary Gates
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Demographics and LGBT Health
By Gary J. Gates
March 2013
New article published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, examines recent studies documenting health disadvantages for same-sex couples compared with different-sex married couples that cannot be fully explained by differences in socioeconomic status. The 2012 U.S. presidential election saw, for the first time, the election of a major party candidate who publicly supported same-sex couples’ right to marry. Exit polling from that election found that 49 percent of voters supported legal marriage for same-sex couples in their states, compared with 46 percent who opposed.
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LGBT Adult Immigrants in the United States
By Gary J. Gates
March 2013
There are approximately 267,000 LGBT-identified individuals among the adult undocumented immigrant population and an estimated 637,000 LGBT-identified individuals among the adult documented immigrant population. The report finds that approximately 71 percent of undocumented LGBT adults are Hispanic and 15 percent of undocumented LGBT adults are Asian or Pacific Islander. Relative to all undocumented immigrants, LGBT undocumented immigrants are more likely to be male and are younger.
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Friend-of-the-Court Briefs Submitted by Williams Institute Scholars in Two Marriage-Related Cases Pending Before the U.S. Supreme Court
March 2013
Williams Institute scholars participated in friend-of-the court briefs filed in two pending U.S. Supreme Court cases in which the Court is weighing the constitutionality of measures related to marriage by same-sex couples. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court is considering the validity of California’s Proposition 8, and in United States v. Windsor, the Court is considering the validity of Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
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Same Sex and Different Sex Couples in the American Community Survey: 2005-2011
By Gary J. Gates
February 2013
This research brief summarizes the demographic characteristics of same-sex couples from 2005 through 2011 using the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and compares them to different-sex couples. The majority of same-sex couples in the US are female (a change from 2005 when the majority were male), about one in five same-sex couples are raising children under age 18, and nearly one in ten men in same-sex couples.
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LGBT Parenting in the United States
By Gates J. Gates
February 2013
As many as six million American children and adults have an LGBT parent. Same-sex couple parents and their children are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities. An estimated 39 percent of individuals in same-sex couples with children under age 18 at home are non-white, as are half of their children. States with the highest proportions of same-sex couples raising biological, adopted or step-children include Mississippi (26%), Wyoming (25%), Alaska (23%), Idaho (22%), and Montana (22%).
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Gallup Special Report: New Estimates of the LGBT Population in the United States
By Gary J. Gates, Frank Newport
February 2013
The percentage of adults in the United States who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) ranges from 1.7% in North Dakota to 5.1% in Hawaii and 10% in the District of Columbia. While LGBT communities are clearly present in every state in the union, their visibility is generally higher in states with greater levels of social acceptance and LGBT supportive legal climates.
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LGBT Vote 2012
By Gary J. Gates
November 2012
Exit polls from the 2012 presidential election suggest that 5% of the electorate identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. These LGB voters overwhelmingly supported President Obama for re-election. Exit polls suggest that the President garnered 76% of the LGB vote compared to 22% support for Gov. Mitt Romney. The strong LGBT support for President Obama was likely a key factor in his ability to win the national popular vote and the very close election in Florida. This research brief considers the impact of the LGBT vote on the Electoral College and explores the extent to which LGBT identity impacts the LGBT vote.
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Gallup Special Report: The LGBT Vote in the 2012 Presidential Election
By Gary J. Gates, Frank Newport
October 2012
A Gallup Report finds that 71% of LGBT Americans who are registered voters support President Obama for reelection, while 22% support Governor Mitt Romney. From June to September, non-LGBT registered voters preferred Romney to Obama by one percentage point, 47% to 46%. However, when LGBT voters are added to electorate, Obama moves slightly ahead of Romney (47% to 45%). These findings suggest that the highly Democratic vote of the LGBT population could be enough to swing a very close election toward Obama.
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Gallup Special Report: The U.S. Adult LGBT Population
By Gary J. Gates, Frank Newport
October 2012
A Gallup report finds that 3.4% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), with the highest incidence among those who are non-white, younger, and less educated. The findings are based on the largest representative sample of LGBT men and women ever collected. This is the first of several reports that will analyze data collected as part of Gallup’s daily tracking survey where respondents are asked if they personally identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
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Serving Our Youth: Findings from a National Survey of Service Providers Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Who Are Homeless or At Risk of Becoming Homeless
By Laura E. Durso, Gary J. Gates
July 2012
Over the past ten years, the percentage of homeless youth providers serving LGBT clients has increased from 82% to 94%. Nearly seven in ten (68%) respondents indicated that family rejection was a major factor contributing to LGBT youth homelessness, making it the most cited factor.
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LGBT Identity: A Demographer’s Perspective
By Gary J. Gates
June 2012
In a recent study, Gates estimated that the self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community makes up 3.8 percent of the American population. The estimate was far lower than many scholars and activists had contended, and it included a relatively high proportion of persons self-identifying as bisexuals. This article responds to two of the central criticisms that arose in the controversy that followed.
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Same-sex Couples in Census 2010: Race and Ethnicity
By Gary J. Gates
April 2012
Newly released Census 2010 data highlight unique aspects of racial and ethnic diversity within same-sex couples. They are more likely than their different-sex counterparts to be interracial or interethnic and couples that include a racial or ethnic minority are more likely to be raising children. Fully a third of same-sex couples that include an Hispanic partner are raising children.
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Virginia Lawmakers Should Do What’s Best for Kids
The Huffington Post
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February 8, 2012 -
Children and Families Impacted and Fiscal Impact of Virginia HB 189/SB 349
By Gary Gates
February 2012
We estimate that 1,700 adopted children and 300 foster children are being raised by single lesbians and gay men in Virginia. If this legislation were to pass, families such as these may find it more difficult to serve as adoptive or foster parents, resulting in more children in congregate care or more children remaining in foster care for longer periods of time.
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Family Formation and Raising Children Among Same-sex Couples
By Gary Gates
January 2012
Proportionally fewer same-sex couples are raising children today than in 2006, and their families reflect greater racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity than often represented in the media and academic research, according to new analyses by Williams Distinguished Scholar Dr. Gary Gates, published by the National Council of Family Relations.
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Same-sex Couples and Immigration in the United States
Gary J. Gates and Craig Konnoth
November 2011
There are an estimated 28,500 binational same-sex couples and nearly 11,500 same-sex couples in which neither partner is a U.S. citizen. None of these 40,000 couples are eligible to use the immigration preferences available to different-sex spouses. These couples are raising almost 25,000 children.
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Gary Gates on Homophobia vs Home Equity on the Huffington Post
Williams Distinguished Scholar Gary Gates published op-ed in the Huffington Post.
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Counting Same-Sex Couples: It’s Not as Easy as You Think
Huffington Post
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October 3, 2011 -
United States – Census Snapshot 2010
September 2011
A new Williams Institute analysis of Census 2010 data shows that nearly 132,000 (20%) of the nearly 650,000 same-sex couples in the U.S. identified as spouses. Data further showed that 31% of couples who identified as spouses and 14% of unmarried partners are raising children. The analyses in the new national report use new estimates of same-sex couples released by the Census Bureau that revise tabulations released earlier this summer.
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Written Testimony: S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families
By M.V. Lee Badgett, Ilan H. Meyer, Gary J. Gates, Nan D. Hunter, Jennifer C. Pizer, Brad Sears
July 2011
Submitted to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary for its Hearing on “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families,” this written testimony summarizes demographic data about same-sex couples and the serious financial, legal, social and health consequences of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) for them and their families.
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