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More American adults are identifying as LGBT

The Meaning of Equal
Posted at 11:22 AM, Feb 22, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-22 14:38:05-05

The percentage of American adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has reached 7.1%, an all-time high, according to a new Gallup poll.

People born between 1997 and 2003, known as Generation Z, were most likely to identify as LGBT. Roughly 21% said they are part of the LGBT community. That's almost more than double the rate for millennials, which is 10.8%. Less than 5% of older generations identify as LGBT, according to the poll.

Gallup noted that it began measuring LGBT identification in 2012, which was three years prior to the Supreme Court ruling that gay marriage should be legal.

Attitudes about gay marriage have largely changed in the last decade, going from 53% support to 71%, according to Gallup.

Gallup expects the trend of people identifying as LGBT to increase in the future as younger generations constitute a larger share of the total adult population in the U.S.

"With one in 10 millennials and one in five Gen Z members identifying as LGBT, the proportion of LGBT Americans should exceed 10% in the near future," Gallup noted.

The shift also comes at a time when LGBT rights are under attack. According to the Human Rights Campaign, there are more than "175 anti-LGBTQ bills" being proposed in 32 states this year.