Imagine ex-Tonight Show host Jay Leno going out on the street as he did many times, and interviewing average Americans about what they think the percentage of professed homosexuals is among the population. What do you think you would find?  If you and these average Americans are immersed in popular culture, as you and they likely are, you would probably guess anywhere from 10 to 30 percent or more. Sometimes it seems like homosexuals are actually the majority of the population! Ah the power of popular culture, our entertainment, sports, TV, movies, music, etc. to shape what we believe; it’s an awesome thing.

But alas, the reality is quite different. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has done the National Health Interview Survey since 1957. The Washington Post calls it the government’s premier tool for annually assessing Americans’ health and behaviors,” and as such it is a highly respected survey. In fact, as the post says,

The inclusion of the sexual-orientation question in an influential survey used to guide government funding and research decisions was viewed as a major victory for the gay community, which has struggled with a dearth of data about its special health needs.

Until, that is, the results were not what they wanted:

Gay-rights activists are distressed over the results of the first large-scale federal survey measuring sexual orientation in the United States, in which it reported in July that less than 3 percent of the population identifies as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

They contend it is a gross undercount and are particularly upset because they worked for years to get sexual orientation added to the 57-year-old National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the government’s premier measure of Americans’ health statuses and behaviors. Now, the activists worry that the results will reduce the urgency of their causes and give fodder to their political foes.

In fact, it’s considerably less than 3 percent: only 1.6 percent of the population self-identify as gay or lesbian. At the current population of around 314 million, that would be around five million people, which is not nothing, but it’s a far cry from what most people perceive, and perceive because of an agenda our cultural elite in media and entertainment push, and push, and push, and push some more. The love that dare not speak its name has become the love that will not shut up! Think about the media attention surrounding Michael Sam, the first openly homosexual football player drafted by an NFL team. Ubiquitous would not be overstating it.

So, it’s “a gross undercount” when the truth is inconvenient for their political agenda because everything in the modern progressive worldview comes down to politics, down to competing interests and power grabs; truth not so much.