Fridae

The results of a random poll of 1,000 high school seniors released on Monday found that US high school seniors across the country hold more liberal views on gay issues than the rest of the country's adult population, reports Reuters.

The national survey, which was designed by Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and conducted by Zogby International, is believed to the first national survey of high school seniors on gay issues.

The poll is conducted in conjunction with MTV as part of the network's "Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination" campaign.

While the results shows that schools remain a "hostile environment" for gay students, it also revealed that 85 percent of seniors thought gay men and lesbians should be accepted by society.

Compared to only about one-third of adults overall in (unnamed) recent polls, two-thirds of the teens surveyed said gay marriages should be legal, 79 percent favoured anti-discrimination laws protecting gay people and eighty-eight percent supported hate crimes legislation.

However despite the clear overwhelming support for gay people, the survey found that US high schools remain a largely unfriendly environment for gay students, with nearly half having witnessed students being called "faggot," "homo" or "dyke" to their face. Some 88 percent said the phrase "that's so gay" is used to describe something that is disliked.

The report also showed that the students expressed a much lower comfort level with specific hypothetical situations, only 43 percent were comfortable with the idea of a gay, same-sex, lab partner; 38 percent were okay with a gay team mate who used the same locker room while only 31.5 percent said they would be comfortable at a party with both gay and straight couples.

Professor Dennis Gilbert of Hamilton whose survey research class designed the poll said that the "the anti-gay minority," about 30 percent of the high school seniors, "is much more problematic."

Referring to the mostly evangelical Christians who expressed the strongest anti-gay views, he added that "their views are firmly rooted, and unlikely to change real soon."

On a positive note, Gilbert pointed out that even this group, of whom 75 percent said homosexual relations should be illegal, 80 percent supported hate crimes legislation and about half said that gay people should be accepted by society.

The pollsters also said that as with past youth opinion surveys conducted for the school, students held more liberal views than adults on such issues as race and gun control.