On My Mind: Gay Pride
June 23 -- On this annual Gay Pride Day, homosexual men and women have cause to show more pride than ever before: increasing public acceptance.
New Census Bureau figures released last week show a great increase in the number of same sex couples sharing households. Statistics from the District of Columbia and 10 other states show that gays and lesbians have -in ten years — achieved significant social and political gains. There's been a 700 percent increase in same sex couples in Delaware and Nevada, a more than 400 percent in Vermont, Indiana, Nebraska, and Louisiana, and a 200 percent jump in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and Montana.
Researchers say the figures do not show a dramatic growth in gay couples. Homosexuals still remain roughly 10 percent of the population. The significance of the figures is the remarkable change in the American people's attitudes toward gays. Gay couples are more comfortable revealing their relationships.
Maybe it's because they are frequently portrayed in the mainstream culture as bright, witty and likeable characters. Even Richard Hatch, the first million-dollar winner on the "Survivor" series was openly gay. At least as far as prime time television is concerned, it's like, "what's the big deal?" And they have ratings to prove it's not.
Like most families, we had a gay relative. He had been in a monogamous relationship for eleven years. That was something he kept hidden from his employer and many members of the family. Unfortunately he died of AIDS in 1992. But I wish he were around to see how things have changed. How happy he would have been to live openly and honestly.
Majority of Americans Support Extending Equal Rights
While the American public doesn't seem ready to approve homosexuality on moral grounds, it does by sizeable majorities, support extending equal rights. According to a Gallup Poll taken this month, 85 percent of those polled say gays and lesbians should have equal job opportunities. 55 percent say homosexual relationships between consenting adults is not morally wrong. And 45 percent, a majority, don't believe gays can change their sexual preferences by just choosing to do so.
