Embargo until noon Eastern time, Monday, August 27, 2001
Web Version

Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll

The Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll is the latest in a series of Youth Opinion Polls conducted by Hamilton Students and faculty in collaboration with the polling firm Zogby International. The poll was funded by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College and is being co-released with MTV.

August 27, 2001
HAMILTON COLLEGE GAY ISSUES POLL

The fourth in a series of Youth Opinion Polls Conducted by Hamilton Students and Faculty

Developed by:
Dennis Gilbert, Professor of Sociology
Irene Agriodimas '01
Nicole Barron '02
Timothy Berbenich '02
Michael Ford '02
Steven Guditus '01
Paul Jones '03
R. Hunter Kurtz '01
Spencer Mindlin '01
Kristin Schaefer '02
Nicholas Stark '01

Conducted in collaboration with
Zogby International

Co-Released with
MTV

Supported by
The Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College

Please address correspondence to:
Prof. Dennis Gilbert, Hamilton College, 198 College Hill Road, Clinton, NY 13323; 315-859-4140; dgilbert@hamilton.edu
Media may contact Sharon Rippey at 315-859-4680 or srippey@hamilton.edu

The Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll
Executive Summary

Two-thirds of this year's high school graduates favor legal recognition of gay marriages, a view shared by just one-third of the adult population. According to a Hamilton College poll of high school seniors, the class of 2001 sides with gays on contentious issues from gay marriage to gay Scoutmasters. Comparisons with recent adult polls reveal that the graduates are consistently more liberal than older Americans on gay issues. But the poll also revealed that many graduates doubt they would be comfortable with gays in common social situations. And the Hamilton researchers found a solidly anti-gay minority, about 30 percent of the graduates, who have negative attitudes toward gays and conservative opinions on most gay issues. (The views of these "anti-gays" are examined separately in the attached report).

Hamilton sociology professor Dennis Gilbert and his students collaborated with the polling firm Zogby International to conduct the Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll. This national telephone survey of 1,000 seniors has an expected margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent. The poll was funded by Hamilton's Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center.

Other important findings from the Hamilton Gay Issues Poll include the following:

?71 percent of the high school graduates polled by Hamilton vs. 54 percent of the adults surveyed by Gallup said that sexual relations between same-sex adults should be legal.

? 63 percent of graduates say they would be "comfortable" with a gay math teacher, but only 31 percent think they would be comfortable at a party with both gay and straight couples.

? About half the graduates reported that they have heard classmates insult gay students by calling them "faggot, homo, dyke" or a similar name.

? 80 percent of Catholics support legal recognition of gay marriages, in direct opposition to official Church doctrine.

? Eight out of 10 graduates say that gay men and lesbians should be "accepted by society." 77 percent agree that "gays contribute to society in unique and positive ways."

? The anti-gay minority (about 30 percent of graduates) consists largely of highly religous Christians who regard homosexuality as a moral or religious question.

? 71 percent of graduates would allow gay men to serve as Scout leaders.

? 39 percent of graduates say that "gay lifestyles are morally wrong."

HAMILTON COLLEGE GAY ISSUES POLL: ANALYSIS

By Dennis Gilbert
Professor of Sociology, Hamilton College

Who they are as a person is more important than who they sleep with or love. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Flaming homosexuals are just weird and gross. But if they don't flash it there's nothing wrong with it.

I don't like fags. I want to beat their queer asses.

God made them that way. Let them be.

I believe it is a choice, a moral decision. And I don't believe what they are doing is right.

Gays are morally wrong, but should be accepted for who they are and not discriminated against.

People say they are gay to get attention.

I like gays. They are nice people.¹

The Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll explored the opinions of this year's high school graduating class. Over a thousand seniors answered questions about gays and gay public issues.² As their comments above suggest, the graduates are as varied (and sometimes confused) in their thinking about homosexuality as the rest of the country. On average, the class of 2001, holds liberal, pro-gay opinions. They are much more liberal on gay matters than adults. But many graduates still doubt that they would be comfortable with gays in common social situations. And the Hamilton researchers found a solidly anti-gay minority, about 30 percent of the graduates, who have negative attitudes toward gays and conservative opinions on most gay issues. Their views are examined separately below.

Public Issues
The Hamilton researchers found that the high school class of 2001 takes liberal positions on commonly debated public issues concerning gays. Strong majorities of graduates say that gay marriages deserve legal recognition, gay couples should be permitted to adopt children, and gay men should be allowed to serve as Boy Scout troop leaders. The graduates overwhelmingly favor legislation protecting gays from hate crimes and job discrimination.

Virtually all agree that homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the military. But the graduates are split between those who would permit gays to serve openly (40%) and those who favor the current policy, which requires gay service members to conceal their sexual orientation (52%). Surprisingly, graduates who say that they have considered military service differed little from their peers on this issue. [For question wording and other details see the appendix.]

Percent favoring

66	Legal Recognition for gay marriages
68	Permit gay couples to adopt children
71	Allow gay men to serve as Scout Leaders
88	Hate crime legislation protection gays
79	Laws protecting gays against job discrimination

Attitudes toward Gays
Members of the class of 2001 are similarly pro-gay in their responses to a series of questions designed to measure positive and negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. Seventy-seven percent of the graduates agree that gay people "contribute to society in unique and positive ways." More than eight out of 10 graduates think that gay men and lesbians should be "accepted by society." More modest majorities of graduates reject the idea that homosexuality is morally wrong and the notion that gays should remain "in the closet," as expressed in the statement, "Gay people have a right to exist, but they should keep their sexuality private and hidden." (The minority of respondents who agreed with this statement were highly likely to take anti-gay positions on the other questions in the survey.)

Percent supporting
Pro-Gay Position³

77	Gays contribute to society in unique and positive ways
86	Lesbians should be accepted into society
85	Gay men should be accepted into society
55	Gays have right to exist, but should hide their sexuality (% disagree)
61	Gay lifestyles are morally wrong (% disagree)
78	Lesbians are digusting (% disagree)
69	Gay men are disgusting (% disagree)

It is common wisdom that popular opinion is more open to lesbian women than gay men. Two pairs of questions included in the Hamilton survey tested this proposition, with mixed results. This year's graduates are equally likely to agree that lesbians and gays should be "accepted by society." But they are somewhat less likely to apply the raw label "disgusting" to lesbians than to gay men.

Comparisons with Adults
Comparisons between the Hamilton Gay Issues Poll and national surveys of adults conducted in 2000 and 2001 indicate that the class of 2001 is much more liberal than older Americans on gay issues.⁴ For example, the Gallup Poll, the Associated Press, and the Los Angles Times all asked national samples of adults about legal recognition of gay marriages and got similar results: one-third of adults support legal recognition and two-thirds are opposed. Among this year's high school graduates, two-thirds support recognition and one-third are opposed, according to the Hamilton poll. Earlier this year, 54 percent of the adults surveyed by Gallup and 71 percent of the graduates polled by Hamilton said that sexual relations between same-sex adults should be legal.⁵ In nine out of nine specific comparisons with recent adult polls, covering issues from gay marriage to gay Scoutmasters, graduates were more likely than adults to side with gays.⁶

Gender Differences, Born-Again Christians and other Variations
Although the Hamilton researchers found big majorities of graduates with liberal opinions on gay matters, they also noted significant variation among groups of graduates. Table 1 reports group differences on two dimensions: the key issue of recognition of gay marriages and general attitude toward gays. General attitude was measured by answers to the battery of questions in the section above titled "Attitudes toward Gays." Respondents were classified as "pro-gay" or "negative toward gays" based on their average response to these seven items. Overall, 51 percent of the class of 2001 are pro-gay by this measure.⁷

As the table indicates, majorities of graduates from virtually every major demographic group, even Southerners and rural or small town populations, support legal recognition of gay marriages. On both indicators, support for gays was especially strong among females, Hispanics, children of single mothers, Catholics, Jews, those without religious affiliation, graduates from the Northeast and the West, and graduates from the suburbs and from less affluent families.

Born-again Christians are the largest group of graduates who are negative toward gays by both measures. The majority of born-again Christians oppose recognition of gay marriage and only one in four is classified as "pro-gay." (The apparent conservatism of Protestant graduates registered in the table reflects the high proportion of born-again Christians among them. Protestants who do not describe themselves as born-again are, in fact, average in their support for gay marriage and affinity for "pro-gay" attitudes.)

Some of the relative differences revealed by the survey were predictable. We expect fundamentalist Christians, males, Southerners, and rural people to exhibit greater cultural conservatism. But there is no particular reason to anticipate greater liberalism on gay issues from Catholics, Hispanics or graduates with single mothers and lower-incomes. The support for gay marriage by eight out of 10 Catholic graduates stands in direct opposition to official Church doctrine. Another surprise was the weak, inconsistent influence of parents' education, normally associated with greater tolerance.

Three non-demographic factors have notable influence on the opinions of graduates: perceived parental opinion, notions about causes of homosexuality, and familiarity with gay people. Graduates who say someone close to them is gay, those who believe their parents would be accepting of a gay friend, and those who believe that homosexuality is "something people are born with" are especially supportive of gays. Similarly supportive are graduates who are close to someone who is openly gay. But mere acquaintance with openly gay individuals or those suspected of being gay has little effect on opinion (See Table 2).

Table 1. Demographic Differences

	Favor Recognition of Gay Marriage	Pro-Gay Attitudes
	P e r c e n t
ALL	66	51
Males	60	43
Females	71	58
White	64	50
Black	67	41
Hispanic	77	69
Protestant	46	33
Catholic	80	64
Jewish	80	67*
Evangelical or Born-Again Christian
Yes	23	27
No	76	60
Northeast	71	64
South	63	43
Midwest	62	47
West	71	56
Rural/Sm Town	63	48
Suburb	71	58
City(100k+)	68	51
Single Mother	83	61
2 Parent Family	63	49
Family Income
Over $75k	62	50
$50k-$75k	65	50
Under $50k	70	52
Mother's Education
HS or Less	66	51
1-4 Years Col	64	49
Post Grad Ed	74	63
Father's Education
HS or Less	70	54
1-4 Years Col	63	49
Post Grad Ed	67	52
* Based on 15 respondents

 

 

Table 2. Influence of Three Factors

	Favor Recognition of Gay Marriage	Pro-Gay Attitudes
	P e r c e n t
Expected Parental Response to Gay Friend
Accepting	84	70
Partially Accepting	62	46
Not Accepting	39	27
Causes of Homosexuality
Born Gay	86	74
Upbringing	61	34
Choice	58	44
Familiarity with Gays*
Someone close	78	65
Others	59	43
None	55	39
*Close = respondents with openly gay "relatives, friends, or aquaintances" who have "let you know they are gay" or "you think (are) gay." None = respondents with no known or suspected gay contacts.

 

School Life and Social Comfort
Despite the generally liberal opinions of the class of 2001 on gay matters, two sets of findings from the Hamilton Gay Issues Poll suggest that everyday life for gay high school students can be difficult.

Asked about their own schools, 60 percent of the graduates say that some of their classmates were "openly" gay, but only 13 percent knew of gay-support groups, often called Gay-Straight Alliances, at their schools. Nine out of 10 graduates said that the phrase "that's so gay" is used at their schools to describe things that students "don't like." More significantly, about half reported that they had heard a classmate "insult another student who is believed to be gay by calling them, to their face, faggot, homo, dyke or anything like that."

The Hamilton researchers asked seniors whether they would be "comfortable, uncomfortable, or somewhere in between" in four social situations in which they might encounter gays or lesbians. Most say that they would be comfortable with a gay man as a math teacher, but probably not with a gay lab partner or teammate or at a party with gay and straight couples. Only 17 percent believe they would be comfortable in all four situations, while 27 percent cannot imagine themselves being comfortable in any of them. However, for each social situation, about 30 percent of the graduates take refuge in the "somewhere in between" alternative. This response might indicate a reluctance to acknowledge (politically incorrect?) discomfort or may simply reflect doubts based on limited experience with gays. Comfort level does increase with experience. For example, about half of graduates with a gay friend or relative, but only 20 percent of respondents who have had no known contact with gays, say they would be comfortable in three or four of the situations.

Percent Comfortable

63	With gay male math teacher
43	With gay lab partner of same sex
38	With gay teammate, sharing locker room
31	With gay and straight couples at a party

The Anti-Gays
Approximately 30 percent of the class of 2001 is both opposed to recognition for gay marriages and negative (rather than "pro-gay") in their general attitudes toward gays.⁸ Three out of four members of this anti-gay minority believe that homosexual relations should be illegal and regard gay men as "disgusting." Both opinions are rare outside this minority. Some respondents thought the idea of labeling gays "disgusting" was laughable.

But even the anti-gays have not been immune to the liberalizing atmosphere surrounding gay issues. Eighty percent would support hate crimes legislation. Though most think gays should keep their sexuality hidden, about half agreed that gay people should be "accepted by society."

Most Anti-gays are obhservant Christians who regard homosexuality as a moral or religious question. Seventy percent report attending Church four or more times a month, and half describe themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians. Over 90 percent say "gay lifestyles" are "morally wrong." Consistent with this idea, three out of four anti-gays say homosexuality is a choice rather than something inborn or inculcated. Like many religious conservatives, the anti-gays overwhelmingly describe themselves as Republicans.

The opinions of the anti-gays seem to reflect parental views. They are much less likely than other graduates to believe that their parents would be accepting of a gay friend. However, the majority of anti-gays know gay people and, surprisingly, one in four say that someone close to them is openly gay. Men are somewhat overrepresented (56 percent) among the anti-gays, and Catholics are underrepresented (14 percent among anti-gays vs. 37 percent in the remainder of the sample), but in broad demographic terms the anti-gays are not especially distinctive. Rather, they are set apart by their consistent views on homosexuality, backed by core religious commitments.

Conclusions
This analysis of the Hamilton Gay Issues Poll contains good news, with a dose of bad news, for gays and their advocates. The good news is that big majorities of graduates take pro-gay positions on relevant public issues and the class of 2001 is much more liberal on such questions than adults. The liberalism of a new generation reinforces the conclusion from long-term polling conducted by Gallup and others that Americans are becoming more tolerant of gays.⁹ On the other hand, the graduates report widespread verbal abuse of gay classmates and they have doubts about their own comfort level with gays. A 30 percent minority of graduates hold strongly anti-gay opinions.

Verbal abuse and social discomfort can be expected to ease over time and with exposure to gay people. But the views of the anti-gay minority are more problematic. They appear firmly rooted and unlikely to change soon.

Conducting the Gay Issues Poll
The Hamilton College Gay Issues Poll is the fourth in a series of national youth surveys conducted by Hamilton faculty and students. These studies are intended to take advantage of the academic expertise of faculty and the life experience of Hamilton students. Previous Hamilton youth polls have dealt with the plans and life values of graduating high school seniors (1998), the racial attitudes of young adults (1999), the opinions of high school students about gun issues (2000), and the political attitudes of young voters (2000). Most funding for these surveys is provided by Hamilton's Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, which paid all costs for the Gay Issues Poll.

The Gay Issues Poll was designed and analyzed by Hamilton Sociology Professor Dennis Gilbert and the Hamilton students whose names are listed on the cover page of this report. The sampling and calling were administered by Zogby International and done in two phases.

The first was a 200-call pilot survey, conducted in February 2001. Calls for this phase were made by the Hamilton student researchers at Zogby International facilities. On the basis of the results from the pilot study, the questionnaire was rewritten by the Hamilton team. The redesigned questionnaire was administered to a national sample of 1,003 high school seniors in calls made the week of March 18 by Zogby International. In theory, a random sample of 1,000 is accurate within plus or minus 3 percentage points. However, obtaining a random national sample of high school seniors is more difficult than drawing a national sample of adults or households. The demographics of the second stage data suggest that a trustworthy national sample was obtained. For the analysis presented here, the sample was reweighted for mother's education, region of the country, sex, and race/ethnicity. Because the original sample was reasonably representative, these adjustments had little effect on the results. Non-sampling problems, such as unintended ambiguities in questionnaire language and less than candid responses, can also affect survey accuracy.
______________

¹ The quotations are from phone interviews with high school seniors contacted by Hamilton College student researchers. See the final section of the analysis for an explanation of how the Gay Issues Poll was conducted.

² The Hamilton Gay Issues Poll was designed to measure the attitudes of a largely "straight" population toward gay men and lesbians opinions regarding their own sexual orientation. No questions were included on bisexuals and transgendered people.

³ Percentage figures are totals of agree and strongly agree responses for positive items (first three), or disagree and strongly disagree responses for negative items. See appendix for details on teh individual items, including question wording.

⁴ Comparisons were made with surveys conducted by or for Gallup (June 2001), Associated Press (May 2001), Harris (June 2001), CNN/USA Today/Gallup (Jan. 2000), Los Angeles Times (June 2000), Fox News (Jan. 2000). The issues covered were gay marriage, legality of gay sex, gay Scoutmasters, job discrimination, and gays in the military.

⁵ On the issue of gay marriage, Gallup (for CNN/USA Today) used the same question that was included in the Hamilton Survey. The other two organizations employed similar language. A fourth poll conducted for Fox News used different question on gay marriage, obtaining results that also indicated more conservative opinion among adults. On the legality of homosexual relations, both surveys used the same question.

⁶ Two additional comparisons with adults-neither involving policy matters-produced unanticipated results. The graduates are marginally less likely to know gay people and much more likely to believe that gays "choose" their sexual orientation that the adults polled by the Los Angeles Times in June 2000. Familiarity with gays and the belief that gays are "born with" their orientation are normally associated with higher levels of support for gays.

⁷ Scores on this general attitude scale are based on the four point scales unse in teh original questions (see appendix for wording). Graduates whose average response was the equivalent of "strongly agree" or "agree" on the positive items (gays "should be accepted by society") and "strongly disagree or "disagree" on the negative items (homosexuality is "morally wrong") were considered "pro-gay." Those whose average response was on the other scale were considered "negative toward gays."

⁸ In contrast, about half of all respondents both support recognition of gay marriages and are "pro-gay" in their attitudes. One in five support recognition but are not pro-gay in attitudes.

⁹ For example, the proportion of adults polled by Gallup who think gays should have protection from job discrimination rose from 56 percent in 1977 to 83 percent in 1999. The proportion who believe that sexual relations between same-sex adults should be legal, rose form 43 percent in 1977 to 54 percent in 2001.
______________
Acknowledgments. I am grateful for help we received at various stages of this project from Stuart Michaels, Tom Linneman, Mitchell Stevens, Kirk Pillow, Paula Rust and Peter Roche.

Previous Hamilton College Youth Polls

Racial Attitudes of Young Americans, August 1999
http://public-affairs.levitt.hamilton.edu/surveys/default.html
Contact Prof. Philip Klinkner, 315-859-4344

Youth and Guns Poll, August 2000
http://hamilton.edu/news/gunsurvey/gun_survey.htm
Contact Prof. Dennis Gilbert, 315-859-4140

Political Attitudes of Young Americans, October 2000
http://public-affairs.levitt.hamilton.edu/surveys/default.html
Contact Prof. Philip Klinkner, 315-859-4344

 

 

Appendix

Responses to all questions in weighted percentages

Figures in parentheses indicate total number of respondents answering each question (out of sample of 1,003). Refusals and volunteered "don't know" responses are excluded from percentages and totals.

1. GAY ISSUES
LEGAL
Do you think homosexual relations between consenting adults should or should not be legal?

	%
1) Favor	71.0
2) Oppose	29.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(911)

JOBDISC
Do you favor or oppose laws to protect gays against job discrimination?

	%
1) Favor	79.0
2) Oppose	21.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(932)

HATECRM
Do you favor or oppose laws to protect gays against hate crimes, such as vandalism or physical attacks, directed against them because they are homosexuals?

	%
1) Favor	87.8
2) Oppose	12.2
TOTAL	100.0
	(975)

GAYBS
Should an openly gay man be permitted to serve as a Boy Scout troop leader if he is otherwise qualified?

	%
1) Favor	70.5
2) Oppose	29.5
TOTAL	100.0
	(932)

MILITARY
As you may know, gay men and lesbians are allowed to serve in the military, but ONLY if they do not reveal their homosexuality or engage in homosexual activity. Which of the following three options do you prefer? 1. Do you favor keeping this current policy? 2. Changing to a policy that would allow homosexuals to serve OPENLY in the military, or 3. Changing to a policy that would NOT allow homosexuals to serve in the military at all?

	%
1) Current	51.9
2) Openly	40.1
3) Not Allow	8.0
Total	100.0
	(983)

MARRIAGE
Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be recognized by law as valid with the same rights as traditional marriage?

	%
1) Should	66.0
2) Shouldn't	34.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(933)

ADOPT
Do you think gay or lesbian couples should or should not be allowed to adopt children?

	%
1) Should	68.0
2) Shouldn't	32.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(926)

2. ATTITUDES TOWARD GAYS
Response categories for these items were strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree.

CONTRIB
Gay people contribute in unique and positive ways to society

	%
1) StrAg	18.9
2) Agree	58.2
3) Disagr	17.3
4) StrDisag	5.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(863)

LESBACPT
Lesbian women should be accepted by society

	%
1) StrAg	26.1
2) Agree	60.0
3) Disagr	9.4
4) StrDisag	4.6
TOTAL	100.0
	(965)

GAYACPT
Gay men should be accepted by society

	%
1) StrAg	25.4
2) Agree	59.8
3) Disagr	9.4
4) StrDisag	5.4
TOTAL	100.0
	(961)

CLOSET
Gay people have a right to exist but they should keep their sexuality private and hidden

	%
1) StrAg	13.4
2) Agree	31.0
3) Disagr	44.2
4) StrDisag	11.4
TOTAL	100.0
	(927)

WRONG
Gay lifestyles are morally wrong

	%
1) StrAg	18.3
2) Agree	20.5
3) Disagr	38.1
4) StrDisag	23.2
TOTAL	100.0
	(932)

LESBDISG
Lesbians are disgusting

	%
1) StrAg	7.1
2) Agree	15
3) Disagr	48.4
4) StrDisag	29.5
TOTAL	100.0
	(920)

GAYDISG
Gay men are disgusting

	%
1) StrAg	11.5
2) Agree	18.9
3) Disagr	42.9
4) StrDisag	26.6
TOTAL	100.0
	(922)

INDXTOLER
Index of attitudes toward gays created from CONTRIB, LESACPT, GAYACPT, CLOSET, WRONG, LESBDISG, GAYDISG, . ProGay indicates average response of 2 (agree) or less on positive items re. gays (e.g., "Gay people contribute ... to society") and 3 (disagree) or more on negative items (e.g., "[G]ay people should keep their sexuality hidden.") for original variables. Negative indicates average of 3 (disagree) or more on positive items (Individual scores are based on all items answered by each respondent. Unanswered items are excluded from calculations).

	%
1) ProGay	51.1
2) Negative	48.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

3. DEMOGRAPHICS

REGION
Northeast = as far south as MD and DC. South = Southeast, extending to VA, WV, and TX. Central = Great Lakes, Midwest extending to TN, KY, OK. West = Mountain States to Pacific.

	%
1) N/EAST	20.0
2) SOUTH	28.4
3) CENTR	29.0
4) WEST	22.6
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

SEX

	%
1)Male	46.9
2) Female	53.1
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

PLACE
Which best describes the place you live? Rural area; Suburbs; Town or city under 100,000; Medium-sized city, between 100,000 and 500,000; Large city, over 500,000.

	%
1) Rural	25.1
2) Suburb	21.6
3) Und100k	22.8
4) 100-500k	19.7
5) Ov500k	10.8
TOTAL	100.0
	(997)

TWOPARENTS
Do you live with both parents?

	%
1)Yes	75.7
2) No	24.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

PARENTS
Do you live with your mother only, your father only, your mother and stepfather, or your father and stepmother, or in some other family arrangement? (Asked of those who answered No to 2PARENTS)

	%
1) MotherOnly	49.8
2) FatherOnly	14.7
3) Mother&Step	17.3
4) Father&Step	11.1
5) Other	7.1
TOTAL	100.0
	(242)

PAED
How much education did your father complete? 1. Did not complete high school 2. High school 3. Some college 4. College graduate 5. Postgraduate education

	#
1) Not HS	6.8
2) HS	30.7
3) SomeCol	22.4
4) ColGrad	27.8
5) PostGrad	12.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(959)

MAED
How much education did your mother complete? 1. Did not complete high school 2. High school 3. Some college 4. College graduate 5. Postgraduate education ( MA-ED )

	#
1) Not HS	5.6
2) HS	39.5
3) SomeCol	21.4
4) ColGrad	23.0
5) PostGrad	10.6
TOTAL	100.0
	(967)

INCOME
If you had to guess, what will your family's income be this year?

	#
1)Und$25k	8.1
2) $25-50k	34.1
3) $50-75k	28.5
4) $75k-100k	15.0
5) Ov$100k	14.4
TOTAL	100.0
	(820)

RACE/ETH
Which category best describes your ethnic or racial background?

	#
1)White	70.8
2) Black	10.6
3) Hispanic	10.7
4) Asian	3.0
5) Othr/Mix	5.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(998)

4. RELIGION/POLITICAL PARTY

RELIGION
Do you consider yourself Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, some other religion or no religion at all?

	#
1)Prot	25.3
2) Cath	30.5
3) Jewish	1.6
4) Othr	27.3
5) NoRel	15.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(985)

BORNAGN2
Would you describe yourself as an evangelical or born-again Christian?

	%
1)Yes	28.0
2) No	72.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,002)

RELIGIOUS
How many times, if any, did you attend a religious service during the last month?

	%
1) None	24.1
2) One	7.4
3) Two	11.7
4) Three	9.2
5) Four	18.7
6) Five	6.8
7) Six	4.2
8) Seven	1.4
9) Eight	3.9
10) Nine	0.4
11) Ten+	12.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(831)

PARTY
Which political party do you most prefer: the Democrats or the Republicans?

	%
1)Democrats	53.1
2) Republicans	46.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(774)

5. POSTGRADUATION PLANS

SERVICE
Have you ever considered enlisting in the military?

	%
1)Yes	38.5
2) No	61.5
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,000)

COLLEGE
Have you applied for admission to a four-year college or university next fall?

	%
1)Yes	68.3
2) No	31.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

6. PARENTAL OPINION/WHY GAY?/KNOWING GAYS.

HOME
If you brought a friend home who happened to be gay, how do you think your parents would react? Would they be accepting, partially accepting, or not accepting at all?

	%
1) Accept	39.9
2) PartialAc	41.0
3) NotAc	19.1
TOTAL	100.0
	(968)

YGAY
In your opinion, what causes someone to be gay? Is it something that people are born with? Is it something that develops because of the way people are brought up, or is it just the way that some people choose to live?

	%
1) Born	22.6
2) BrUp	15.5
3) Choose	61.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(895)

OPENGAY
Thinking of all the people you know, either well or even only casually - do you know of anyone who is openly gay?

	%
1)Yes	69.0
2) No	31.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(1001)

CLOSE
Have any of your friends, relatives or close acquaintances let you know they are gay or lesbian? (Not asked of respondents who answered No on OPENGAY.)

	%
1)Yes	58.1
2) No	41.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(692)

MAYBEGAY
Do you know of anyone who you think is gay?

	%
1) Yes	72.3
2) No	27.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(990)

KNOWGAYS?
Acquaintance with gays. CLOSE = someone close who is openly gay. OPEN = openly gay but not close. MAYBE = may be gay but not close or open. NONE = None of these. [Created from CLOSE, OPEN, MAYBE]

	%
1) Close	40.4
2) Open	28.9
3) Maybe	15.8
4) None	14.6
TOTAL	100.0
	(996)

7. HIGH SCHOOLS

SKOL
Is your high school public, Catholic, or private school?

	%
1) Public	90.8
2) Catholic	4.5
3) Private	4.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

SKOLSIZE
Approximately how big is it?

	%
1) Und500	21.4
2) 500-1000	26.2
3) 1000-2000	33.5
4) Ov 2000	18.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(992)

GAYHS
As far as you know, are there students at your school who are openly homosexual - that is students who let people know that they are gay or lesbian?

	%
1) Yes	58.7
2) No	41.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(975)

SOGAY
Do students at your school use the phrase 'That's so gay' to talk about something they don't like?

	%
1) Yes	87.8
2) No	12.2
TOTAL	100.0
	(994)

INSULTS
Have you ever heard anyone insult another student who is believed to be gay by calling them, to their face, faggot, homo, dyke or anything like that?

	%
1) Yes	49.1
2) No	50.9
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,001)

GSA
Many high schools have organizations to support homosexual students. Sometimes they are called Gay-Straight Alliances. Does your school have a group like that?

	%
1) Yes	13.0
2) No	87.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(963)

CLASSES
Have issues concerning homosexuality or gay rights been discussed in any of the classes you have taken in high school?

	%
1) Yes	46.8
2) No	53.2
TOTAL	100.0
	(989)

DISCUSS
Do you feel that these issues should be discussed in high school classes?

	%
1) Yes	76.3
2) No	23.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(967)

8. COMFORT WITH GAYS

TEACHER
Here are some situations in which you might encounter a gay person. For each situation tell me if you would feel comfortable, uncomfortable or somewhere in between. For example, imagine that you are taking a class taught by a gay man. Do you feel comfortable, uncomfortable or somewhere in between?

	%
1) Comf	62.1
2) Between	28.3
3) Uncomf	9.5
TOTAL	100.0
	(998)

LAB
Your lab partner, who is the same sex that you are, is gay

	%
1) Comf	43.1
2) Between	28.9
3) Uncomf	28.0
TOTAL	100.0
	(989)

TEAMMATE
You are on an athletic team with a gay person and you use the same locker room

	%
1) Comf	38.0
2) Between	27.7
3) Uncomf	34.3
TOTAL	100.0
	(987)

COUPLES
You are at a party with both gay and straight couples

	%
1) Comf	31.5
2) Between	27.8
3) Uncomf	40.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(994)

INDXCOMF
Index of comfort with gays. Equal to number of "Comfortable" responses on TEACHER, LAB, TEAMMATE, COUPLES.

	%
0	27.1
1	22.5
2	17.3
3	16.4
4	16.7
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

9. HOW CERTAIN?

BEFORE
Before you answered this poll, how often had you discussed or thought about gay issues?

	%
1) Never	10.5
2) Seldom	33.6
3) Sometms	39.1
4) Often	16.8
TOTAL	100.0
	(1,003)

CERTAIN
Some people are very certain in their opinions about gay issues, like the ones we've asked about. Others are still making up their minds about these issues. How would you describe the certainty of your own opinions?

	%
1) VryCertain	47.7
2) FairlyCert	44.7
3) FairlyUncert	6.1
4) VryCert	1.5
TOTAL	100.0
	(984)