By Sebastien Malo
NEW YORK, June 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Twice as many U.S. adults identify as transgender than was previously thought, researchers said on Thursday, in a finding that could put pressure on lawmakers to address discrimination against transgender people.
Some 1.4 million of U.S. adults, or 0.6 percent of the country’s adult population, are thought to identify as transgender, according to a study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The new estimate – double the group’s previous figure which was based on data from roughly 10 years ago – signals to lawmakers that demands for transgender rights will not go away, said co-author of the study Gary J. Gates.
Lawmakers across the United States are currently grappling with whether to allow transgender Americans to use public restrooms that match their gender identities.
Meanwhile, the killing of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month, has shaken members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and prompted a debate about the way Americans view LGBT people.
“Having these numbers allows policymakers to make the case that these are people who are in your state, in your district, they are your friends and neighbor,” Gates told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
“It does tell policymakers that they’re going to have to figure this out.”
