Demographic Correlates Associated with LGBT Rights in the United States

Abstract

Research regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in theUnited States is limited because the LGBT movement is still young in the U.S. Mostresearch on the matter explores attitudes toward the LGBT community by identifyingdemographic correlates that are associated with either positive or negative attitudestoward the LGBT community. This study tests to see which demographic correlatesexplain why the number of LGBT rights vary from state to state. The primary test used inthis study is multiple regression analysis. The findings demonstrate that religiosity,political party affiliation, and the percentage of people within a state who identify asbeing White are the only significant demographic correlates that contribute to the numberof rights states have in support of the LGBT community. The aforementioned variablesare the only demographic correlates affecting the number of rights in support of theLGBT community, while attitudes toward the LGBT community are affected by a greaternumber of variables.