"What America's Parents think About Gay and Lesbian People"
Presented by: Celinda Lake, National Public Opinion Researcher and President of Lake, Snell and Perry and Peter Teague, Executive Director of the Horizons Foundation

Selected findings from a national poll conducted in February for the Horizons Foundation: Parents' attitudes on sexual orientation.

Do you favor or oppose extending laws against hate crimes to include hate crimes against gays and lesbians?
Oppose - 24%
Don't know - 6%
Favor - 70%

Do you favor or oppose allowing groups or clubs on school campuses to promote tolerance and prevent discrimination against gay and lesbian students?
Oppose - 37%
Don't know - 7%
Favor - 56%

How comfortable would you be if the following person was gay or lesbian?

Co-worker:
Comfortable - 79%
Uncomfortable - 18%
Not sure - 3%

A close family member or other relative:
Comfortable - 70%
Uncomfortable - 26%
Not sure - 4%

Your child's teacher:
Comfortable - 55%
Uncomfortable - 41%
Not sure - 6%

Your child's friends:
Comfortable - 54%
Uncomfortable - 40%
Not sure - 6%

A parent of your child's friend:
Comfortable - 61%
Uncomfortable - 35%
Not sure - 5%

A neighbor:
Comfortable - 74%
Uncomfortable - 22%
Not sure - 4%

Which comes closer to your view?

Homosexuality is something I would discuss with my children as part of discussing sex and the birds and the bees - 32%

Homosexuality is something I would discuss with my children if they asked me questions, but not something I would raise with them on my own - 61%

Homosexuality is not something I would discuss with my children, even if they asked me questions - 5% Depends / Don't know - 3%

The nationwide survey of 1,000 parents was conducted Feb. 20-26, by Lake Snell Perry & Associates for the San Francisco-based Horizons Foundation. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Sources: Horizons Foundation, Lake Snell Perry & Associates