Oregon exemplifies the political division on gay civil rights. “But now they come out for the first time online, and that changes, for some people, the need to leave.” “For a generation, they all remember the moment they walked through their first gay bar,” said Paul Boneberg, executive director of the G.L.B.T. The regional gaps in political attitudes, religion and ethnic makeup are often much wider. The share of San Francisco’s population that’s gay is only two and a half times larger than the share outside major metro areas. It’s a reflection in part of increasing tolerance and of social connections made possible by the Internet.įrank Newport, the editor in chief of Gallup, notes that the regional variation in sexual orientation and identity is much smaller than the variation in many other categories. And even the parts of the country outside the 50 biggest metropolitan areas have a gay population (about 3 percent) not so different from some big metropolitan areas. Nationwide, Gallup says, 3.6 percent of adults consider themselves gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Gay America, rather than being confined to a few places, spreads across every major region of the country. Significant as these differences are, the similarities are just as notable. The least gay urban areas are in the Midwest and South. On the other hand, some of the East Coast places with famous gay neighborhoods, including in New York, Miami and Washington, have a smaller percentage of their population who identify as gay - roughly average for a big metropolitan area. How could Salt Lake be there, given its well-known social conservatism? It seems to be a kind of regional capital of gay life, attracting people from other parts of Utah and the Mormon West.
Among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, Denver and Salt Lake City are also in the top 10. The Gallup analysis finds the largest concentrations in the West - and not just in the expected places like San Francisco and Portland, Ore. As a result, there has long been a shroud of uncertainty around the geography of gay and lesbian Americans.Ī new analysis of Gallup survey data offers the most detailed estimates yet about where people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender live. But there is one glaring demographic omission: The census does not ask people about their sexual orientation. Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case to hear evidence from the boy.The Census Bureau asks Americans about subjects as varied as race, age, annual income and even their source of home heating. The man told the psychologist: “I’m not that kind of person and I’m disgusted with myself. However, the psychologist added that he found no evidence of any interest in paedophilia. He said a report from a forensic clinical psychologist found the man to be immature and introverted and that he has difficulty recognising his bisexuality. She added he is deeply ashamed of what had happened and is willing to accept any punishment that came his way.Ĭolm Smyth, defending, said his client is from a very respectable family who is shocked by what had happened. The accused man’s sister gave evidence that, up until this incident, her family never knew he was homosexual.
In a later interview with gardaí, the man admitted that when the boy answered the door to him, he thought he was aged “16 or 17”. The boy’s mother came home unexpectedly and witnessed the sexual encounter. The garda said that when the boy was interviewed by specialist interviewers, he claimed that the man forced him to give him oral sex. Garda Malcolm Hooks told the court that while the boy’s Gaydar profile said he was aged 19, another part of his profile read: “I’m not a porn star, I’m a 13-year-old.” The offence occurred on April 13th, 2015.
The man has appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to the defilement of a child under the age of 15 years. The man, who was aged 30 at the time, arranged to travel to the boy’s home. The boy downloaded the Gaydar app and put up a profile of himself claiming to be 19.Ī man contacted the child a short time later and was told the boy’s mother would be out for two hours.