Latino/as* (a.k.a, "Latinxs" or "Latin@s") have a long and rich history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) activism. Early movement pioneers include José Julio Sarria, the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States; Sylvia Rivera, a bisexual and transgender rights activist often credited with starting the Stonewall Riots; and Gloria Anzaldúa, a noted scholar of Chicano history and lesbian rights advocate. That activist spirit continues today in the work of people such as Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, the first openly transgender person to work in the White House.

According to the Pew Research Center, Latino/as made up 17.4 percent of the total U.S. population in 2014. Data analysis by the Williams Institute reveals there are approximately 1.4 million LGBT Latino/a adults currently living in the United States. Of the 146,000 Latino/a same-sex households in the U.S., 29.1 percent are raising children.

LGBTQ Latino/as tend to live in areas where there are already high concentrations of Latino/a people. One-third of same-sex Latino/a couples live in New Mexico, California and Texas. Other states with high LGBTQ Latino/a populations include Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Jersey, Kansas, Florida, New York and Washington, D.C. Notably, many of these states lack statewide non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Source: Human Rights Campaign