The Sources of the Political Distinctiveness of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals in American Politics.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) voters are a distinctively liberal group in American politics whose members tend to affiliate with the Democratic Party and support its candidates at much greater rates than heterosexuals. To the extent that scholars have offered explanations for this distinctiveness, they have attributed it to mobilization efforts that focus on group benefits for LGBs. In this paper, I show instead that it is the life event of "coming out" as lesbian, gay or bisexual—above and beyond any subsequent mobilization efforts—that gives LGBs their political distinctiveness. I first show that LGBs are politically distinctive from the moment they come of age and begin participating in electoral politics, regardless of the extent of their contact with other gay people. I then demonstrate that among Americans who report having same-sex sexual partners, only a subset are politically distinctive: those who accept the morality of their homosexual behavior. These findings indicate that the adoption of gay identity is a catalyzing life event with major implications for individual political behavior and attitudes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]