The great debate

In the wake of last week's controversy over the legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts, this installment of "By the Numbers" looks at how different segments of the population view homosexuality



55% Americans aged 18-24 who think homosexuality is "morally acceptable"

21% Americans older than 65 who think so



2-10% Americans who are gay or lesbian



79% Americans who think the U.S. military should allow openly gay individuals to serve

35% Americans who oppose same-sex marriage



52% Americans who think homosexuals are as likely to have stable relationships as heterosexuals

32% Americans who support same-sex marriage

59% Incoming college freshmen who support it



38 States that have enacted laws or amendments that ban gay marriage

2 Margin of votes (100-98) by which Mass. House Speaker Thomas Finneran's proposal to bar gay marriage was defeated on Wednesday

3,700 Demonstrators (both pro and anti gay marriage) outside Boston's Statehouse last Wednesday, when the proposal was being debated

1 Openly gay member of the Mass. State Senate (Jarrett Barrios)



42% Americans who think a person's sexual orientation can be changed

42% Americans who think it can't



78% Voters favoring President Bush's reelection who oppose gay marriage

48% Voters favoring a Democratic candidate who oppose gay marriage



48% Americans who think there are currently too many gay characters and themes in the entertainment media

37% Americans who thought so in 2000

The statistics cited above come from the Pew Center for the People and the Press, Gallup Brain, publicagenda.org, the Standard Times, and the Christian Science Monitor.