A June 12, 2007, segment on The O'Reilly Factor addressed
a recent lawsuit filed by a gay woman against online matchmaker
eHarmony.com. (She's suing the company for discrimination because they
do not offer matchmaking services for homosexuals.)
In the segment, lawyer
Sunny Hostin
stated that, due to California law, the lawsuit may have merit, even
though eHarmony.com is a private company. She then opined that eHarmony
could be missing out on a lot of money from "10 percent of the
population" by negating homosexuals.
Well, although the line is still commonly heard today, the "10
percent" figure has been debunked. Even the homosexual community has
admitted the figure is false. A Friend of the Court brief filed with the
2003 Lawrence v. Texas Supreme Court case said that a National
Health and Social Life Survey ("the most widely accepted study of sexual
practices in the United States," according to the brief) reported "that
2.8% of the male, and 1.4% of the female, population
identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual." (source).
In other words, it's a far cry from "10 percent."