What’s a more appropriate term — gay or homosexual?

“Gay. It has a friendlier tone to it. My brother is gay. We use the word all the time. Homosexual is so harsh. And it limits a person to their sexuality, as if they didn’t have a personality.”

“Homosexual. All I ever heard in high school was, ‘That’s so gay’ or ‘He’s so gay.’ It doesn’t have the connotation that’s appropriate for the LGBT community. Homosexual is less offensive.”

“Homosexual is more polite. The definition of gay isn’t the same anymore. Gay people should be proud, but that word has become totally negative. It’s not that bad, but it’s pretty negative. Faggot would be worse, of course.”

“Homosexual. It’s more factual, more mellow. Gay sounds too inflammatory. Depending on how it’s used, it can be misleading. Homosexual gets right to the point. In my opinion, it’s the more appropriate word.”