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LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences

2025 Survey of LGBTQ Americans

data essay

Same-Sex Parents Raising Kids

As part of our efforts to explore the experiences of LGBTQ adults and their families in the U.S., we conducted a series of interviews with 30 gay, lesbian and bisexual adults who are raising children with a same-sex spouse or partner.

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LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences

Publications

  • short reads

    Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage will likely impact immigration, too

    There is an immigration angle to the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act: Some gay and lesbian Americans will now be able to obtain visas for their foreign-born same-sex spouses. That is because the court’s ruling states that federal law cannot make a distinction between opposite-sex married couples and […]

  • short reads

    How many same-sex marriages in the U.S.? At least 71,165, probably more

    Today, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act’s key section, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages and denied same-sex couples who were married under state law a panoply of federal benefits — from favorable tax treatment to the ability to be buried together in veterans’ cemeteries — that are available to […]

  • short reads

    On Stonewall anniversary, a reminder of how much public opinion has changed

    As the Supreme Court issued a key legal victory to same-sex marriage supporters today with its ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, it’s worth looking back to an event that sparked a new discussion of homosexual issues – the Stonewall riots that occurred in New York City this week in 1969.

  • short reads

    Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling comes as majority now supports same-sex marriage

    Email Sign Up Receive our weekly newsletter featuring new analysis on politics, social trends, religion, the media and more. Sign Up Now The Supreme Court today struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying in a 5-4 ruling that the federal government can’t disparage marriages recognized by the states. The Court also declined […]

  • short reads

    How LGBT adults see society and how the public sees them

    Two Pew Research Center surveys — one of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults and the other of the American public — found a common thread: that society as a whole has become more accepting of gays and lesbians.

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    Final Court Rulings: Public Equally Interested in Voting Rights, Gay Marriage

    Overview A new poll finds that the public is as interested in the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on the Voting Rights Act as in its long-awaited decisions on same-sex marriage. Roughly a third of Americans (35% each) say they are very interested in both how the court will rule on whether parts of the Voting […]

  • short reads

    Ahead of same-sex marriage decisions, what you need to know

    The Supreme Court is expected to rule imminently on two laws seeking to block same-sex marriage — the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. Here’s a summary of major findings related to the issue.

  • short reads

    For religious LGBT adults, more commitment sometimes brings more conflict

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults are generally less religious than U.S. society as a whole, a recent Pew Research Center survey found. About half (51%) declare any religious affiliation at all, versus close to eight-in-ten U.S. adults; about a fifth (17%) are both religiously affiliated and say religion is very important in their lives, […]