1. Gay and Lesbian Demographics A Research Focus of the Urban Institute

5. Even though the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy does not permit lesbians and gay men to serve openly, census data make clear that they are actively serving in the armed forces, in guard and reserve units, and have served in the military throughout the later part of the 20th century. Estimates suggest that gay men and lesbians represent 2.5 percent of active duty personnel. When the guard and reserve are included, nearly 65,000 men and women in uniform are likely gay or lesbian, accounting for 2.8 percent of military personnel.

6. In general, coupled gay men are less likely to report military service than other men, while coupled lesbians are more likely than other women to serve. Service rates in the last decade of the 20th century among coupled lesbians age 18–27 were more than three times higher than rates among other women.

8. Same-sex senior couples are more likely to still be making mortgage payments when one dies. Combined with other financial losses, this higher debt burden puts surviving partners at greater risk of losing their home. Even before a partner's death, these seniors risk losing their home when an elderly partner enters a nursing home. Federal Medicaid law permits a married spouse to remain in the couple's home, but not an unmarried partner.

11. Diversity enhances innovation and creativity by allowing different perspectives and ideas to be heard. The creative and innovative people driving the tech economy seek places high in cultural and racial/ethnic diversity–and so do gays and lesbians. It is likely not a coincidence that high-tech centers like metropolitan San Francisco, Washington, Austin, Atlanta, and San Diego also have large and visible gay populations.

13. The way data is edited once it's collected changed in Census 2000 too. In 1990, when another adult of the same sex as the householder was identified as a "husband/wife," the couple was counted as a heterosexual married couple. In 2000, the "husband/wife" was counted as an "unmarried partner." Counting these same-sex married couples along with the same-sex unmarried partners helps explain the dramatic upsurge in the same-sex couple counts between 1990 and 2000. An even bigger factor may be the growing willingness of gay men and lesbians to identify themselves as partners.

14. Many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals never show up in the Census data. The most significant omission is of single gay men and lesbians since, survey data show, only about a quarter of gay men and two-fifths of lesbians are in couples at any given time.