President Donald Trump and his administration may want to sideline LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people, but the news from Gallup is that the number of adults identifying as something other than straight has actually increased. A new survey released February 20 for data collected in 2024 indicates that 9.3% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual. That's a full percentage point higher than Gallup's previous survey for 2023, the polling company stated in its report.
"Longer term, the figure has nearly doubled since 2020 and is up from 3.5% in 2012, when Gallup first measured it," the report stated.
"LGBTQ+ identification is increasing as younger generations of Americans enter adulthood and are much more likely than older generations to say they are something other than heterosexual," the report stated. "More than one in five Gen Z adults – those born between 1997 and 2006, who were between the ages of 18 and 27 in 2024 – identify as LGBTQ+. Each older generation of adults, from millennials to the Silent Generation, has successively lower rates of identification, down to 1.8% among the oldest Americans, those born before 1946."
Among the nearly 900 LGBTQ+ individuals Gallup interviewed last year, more than half, 56%, said they were bisexual, according to the survey. Twenty-one percent said they were gay, 15% lesbian, 14% transgender, and 6% something else.
(These figures total more than 100% because the survey allows respondents to report multiple LGBTQ+ identities. The overall estimate of 9.3% of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ+ counts each respondent only once, even if they have multiple identities, the survey explained.)
The latest results are based on interviews with more than 14,000 U.S. adults across all 2024 Gallup telephone surveys. Each respondent was asked whether they identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something else. Overall, 85.7% say they are straight, 5.2% are bisexual, 2.0% are gay, 1.4% are lesbian and 1.3% are transgender. Just under 1% mention some other LGBTQ+ identity, such as pansexual, asexual, or queer. Five percent of respondents declined to answer the question.
This latest information presents a conundrum for Trump, of course. He has started out his second White House stint obsessively issuing executive orders hoping that his signature alone will force trans people into extinction. Far from it. In recent weeks, as the scope and horror of his orders have been made clear, LGBTQ people and allies are starting to fight back. Just last week, as we reported, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed two lawsuits. One, filed in federal court in San Francisco, has the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as the lead plaintiff, joined by the San Francisco Community Health Center, the GLBT Historical Society, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and other nonprofits in New York City, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Maryland. The other suit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. and has the National Urban League as the lead plaintiff, joined by an AIDS organization in Chicago and other groups. Both suits target three executive orders by Trump that seek to erase trans people and eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
In another matter, a federal judge in D.C. recently heard arguments in a case filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders against Trump's executive order banning trans people from serving in the military. Judge Ana Reyes, a lesbian appointed by former President Joe Biden, hasn't ruled yet but indicated during the hearing that she is deeply skeptical of the reasoning behind Trump's order. According to reports, she also praised the service of several of the active-duty transgender plaintiffs who are suing the government.
Finally, on Tuesday, federal Judge Loren L. AliKhan in Washington, D.C. issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against the Office of Management and Budget's freeze on federal grant disbursements that has put essential services across the nation in jeopardy. That lawsuit was brought by Democracy Forward on behalf of the National Council of Nonprofits, and other nonprofits, including SAGE, which works with older LGBTQs.
Meanwhile, Republican congressmembers recently got an earful from constituents at town hall meetings in their districts. It seems that some Republicans and many Democrats don't want to see vital services cut. (Farmers in the Midwest are losing money because of the USAID funding freeze, for example.) People also don't like Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk's chainsaw approach to eliminating federal funds, with majorities disapproving of him in recent polls, Axios reported.
Despite all of this, LGBTQ people soldier on, and there are more of us than ever. Trump and his cronies should focus more on lowering costs – consumer confidence is faltering, ABC News reported this week – than on going after trans people just because they're a convenient distraction for MAGA. People also need to look beyond these diversions. When they do, they will see that Trump's promise of a "strong economy" is, at this point, merely bluster.
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!
