The difference between 'gay' and 'homosexual'

Today, a lesson in the importance of questionnaire wording. According to a CBS/New York Times poll, 70% of Americans support ‘gay men and lesbians’ serving in the military. But when it comes to ‘homosexuals’, it’s a different matter – only 59% are in favour of them serving.

The Obama team will no doubt be scratching their heads to see if they can get an 11-point poll lead on any other issues just by re-arranging the words.

Kate Harding at Salon.com says the poll provides hard evidence in support of activists who insist that word choice is important, and who are “widely dismissed as free speech-hating PC whiners who need to get a life”.