The Basics

VOCABULARY:

Same-sex marriage: Two people of the same sex that live together as a family. (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013)

LGBT: Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender 

DOMA: The Defense of Marriage Act, a law passed by congress in 1996 by President Bill Clinton that forbids the government to honor same-sex marriage.

DOMA- PDF of the Defense of Marriage Act

Civil Union: legal contracts between partners that are recognized by a state or government as conferring all or some of the rights conferred by marriage, but without the implicit historical and religious meaning associated with the word "marriage." In the United States, some states have legalized civil unions as an option for same-sex couples who cannot legally marry. Civil unions were once distinct from domestic partnerships, but the terms are now used more-or-less interchangeably (Head, 2013).

WHO ARE THE LGBT?:

Data from Pew Research:

(DeSilver, 2013)

10 — Median age at which gay men in America said they first thought they might be gay.

15 — Median age at which they (gay men) knew for sure.

13 — Median age at which American lesbians said they first thought they might be lesbian.

18 — Median age at which they (lesbian woman) knew for sure 

56% — Percentage of unmarried gay men in America who say they’d like to get married someday.

58% — Percentage of unmarried U.S. lesbians who say they would.

45% — Percentage of unmarried bisexuals who say they would.

LGBT in AMERICA:

 "How many same-sex marriages have there been in the United States since 2004, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize them? Our best estimate: At least 71,165, but almost certainly more" (DeSilver, 2013).

Data from Pew Research:

(DeSilver, 2013)

51% of Americans support same-sex marriage

14% of Americans say that they have changed their mind about same-sex marriage

+11 — Percentage-point increase in the share of Americans who say society should accept homosexuality (from 49% in 2004 to 60% earlier this year).

92% — Percentage of LGBT adults in America who say society has become more accepting of them over the past 10 years.

92% — Percentage of LGBT adults who say society will be even more accepting 10 years from now.

39% – Percentage of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults who say they’ve been rejected by a friend or family member at some point in their lives because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

6%  – Percentage who say this has happened in the past year.

48% — Percentage of LGBT adults who don’t identify with any particular religion (versus 20% of the U.S. general public).

56% — Percentage of LGBT adults who identify as Democrats (versus 8% as Republicans)

THE LAW:

Maps provided by the NCSL, the National Conference of State Legislatures.

(National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013)

The map above shows which states have laws that honor same-sex marriage and which ones don't. 

This map shows states that provide civil unions for same-sex couples.

DOMA- The Defense of Marriage Act-1996-Bill Clinton

THE SMELL TEST

In Detecting Bull by John H. McManus he gives readers a way to detect whether the news you are being fed is true or reliable. (McManus, 2012, 149-150)

S- What is the source?

M- What is the motivation?

E- Is there evidence?

L- What is the logic?

L- What is left-out