{"id":35705,"date":"2016-03-16T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/growing-lgbt-acceptance-matches-growing-lgbt-population-in-the-south\/"},"modified":"2016-03-16T12:00:38","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T16:00:38","slug":"growing-lgbt-acceptance-matches-growing-lgbt-population-in-the-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/growing-lgbt-acceptance-matches-growing-lgbt-population-in-the-south\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing LGBT acceptance matches growing LGBT population in the South"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing LGBT acceptance matches growing LGBT population in the South<\/b><\/p>\n

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The William’s Institute <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Williams Institute<\/a>, a think-tank at UCLA Law dedicated to conducting independent research on LGBT-related laws and public policies, released new research<\/a> which shows that public support for LGBT people and rights is growing in every Southern state. Since the early 2000’s, attitudes about marriage for same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> have been improving across Southern states. The statistics also reveal economic and health disparities faced by LGBT Southerners. “Thirty-five percent of the LGBT population in the United States lives in the South, where they are more likely to lack employment protections, earn less than $24,000 a year, and a report that they cannot afford food or healthcare,” the report indicated. “More new HIV infections among men<\/a> who have sex<\/a> with men<\/a> come from the South than any other region in the country. Southern LGBT individuals are also less likely to have insurance than anywhere else in the country.” <\/p>\n

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The report shows support for LGBT people accross every state in the South since the year 2000. The following graph shows growing support for marriage equality across Southern states. <\/p>\n

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This information comes at a time when harmful anti-LGBT legislation is being considered in some Southern states, most notably Georgia’s “First Amendment Defense Act.”<\/a>  As a part of our Southern Stories initiative, GLAAD recently released media guides<\/a> to ensure positive portrayal and build acceptance of the LGBT community in Southern states.<\/p>\n

You can find a state-by-state breakdown of The Williams Institute findings on LGBT Southerners here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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March 16, 2016<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues: <\/div>\n